28 January 2026 — The Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N)under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and QNu Labs have signed a memorandum of understanding to deploy quantum-resilient cybersecurity solutions across India's critical infrastructure, defence networks, and government systems.
The announcement, made in the presence of Union Minister Shri Jitin Prasada and MeitY Secretary Shri S. Krishnan, represents a convergence of government-developed software with indigenous quantum hardware, positioning India to address emerging cybersecurity challenges through homegrown technological solutions.
Quantum computing capabilities are advancing rapidly, yet most security architectures remain unprepared. Nation-state actors are harvesting encrypted data today with the expectation of decrypting it tomorrow—a phenomenon termed "Harvest Now, Decrypt Later" attacks.
This MoU addresses two challenges: protecting long-lived sensitive data against future quantum computing threats, and building these protections using indigenous technologies, ensuring critical security infrastructure remains under sovereign control.
BISAG-N's Vedic Kavach represents one of India's early government-led quantum-resilient implementations, featuring quantum-resilient web servers and a secure web browser integrated with Quantum Random Number Generation.
QNu Labs contributes to its quantum secured hardware Tropos for quantum random number generation. This integration creates hardware-backed security combining mathematical resilience with information-theoretic security guaranteed by physics.
Post-quantum cryptography provides computational security based on mathematical hardness, whilst quantum random number generator offers true entropy (randomness) through the laws of physics to secure the browser. This layered defence protects against current and future threats.
Know more: QNu’s Quantum Suraksha Kavach: India’s Quantum Shield
The integration of QNu's quantum hardware and software with BISAG-N's Vedic Kavach strengthens India's Quantum Shield –powered by QNu Labs, which is a sovereign security architecture ensuring digital invincibility. India has reached the inflection point where encryption technologies must be generated, distributed, and managed entirely within national systems, breaking dependencies on foreign infrastructure that could compromise strategic autonomy.
The MoU establishes a framework for technology transfer, integration, and deployment across multiple sectors:
Defence networks gain unbreakable encryption for classified communications and command systems. Critical infrastructure, such as power grids, telecommunications, financial systems receives protection against cyber-attacks threatening national functioning. Government systems processing citizen data, from Aadhaar authentication to digital health records, gain security extending decades into the future.
QNu Labs has demonstrated deployment capabilities through measurable achievements: a 500-kilometre quantum key distribution network, 25 naval quantum systems, and commercial solutions available through the Government e-Marketplace.
Whilst optical fibre networks provide secure quantum communication over hundreds of kilometres, satellite-based systems overcome terrestrial limitations. BISAG-N's satellite communication expertise combined with QNu's quantum technologies enables secure space-ground links across India's vast geography.
This supports strategic depth, ensuring secure communications remain viable between remote military installations, offshore platforms, island territories, and locations where fibre infrastructure proves impractical, even when terrestrial networks face disruption.
This partnership operates within multiple national initiatives. The National Quantum Mission (₹6,003.65 crore allocation) aims to establish India as a quantum technology leader. Digital India drives secure infrastructure for 1.4 billion citizens. Atmanirbhar Bharat emphasises self-reliance in critical technologies.
The Viksit Bharat @2047 vision requires digital infrastructure capable of supporting a developed economy over the next quarter-century. Security systems deployed today must protect data that will remain sensitive for decades.
China has deployed the world's largest quantum key distribution network. The United States mandates post-quantum cryptography migration across government agencies. The European Union is building quantum communication infrastructure connecting member states.
India's approach differs through indigenous development emphasis to achieve digital sovereignty. Rather than importing quantum security technologies, this partnership creates domestic capabilities that can be scaled, maintained, and evolved within India's technology ecosystem. The government-private sector collaboration model drives technological self-reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat, Digital India).
The MoU's technology transfer framework creates mechanisms for knowledge sharing, skills development, and capability building. Engineers and scientists gain hands-on experience with quantum technologies, building human capital needed for sustained innovation.
Know more: QNu Academy for democratising quantum security across academia, and innovators
The partnership establishes precedents for government-industry collaboration on advanced technologies—emphasising co-creation, joint development, and shared expertise rather than pure procurement relationships.
Modern cybersecurity operates across network, application, data, and endpoint layers. Quantum-resilient security must integrate across all layers without creating performance bottlenecks.
This partnership establishes pathways for expanding quantum security deployment and building India's quantum technology ecosystem. Future development encompasses quantum-safe satellite constellations for nationwide coverage, integration into 5G and future telecommunications networks, quantum-protected cloud infrastructure, and quantum security standards tailored for Indian requirements.
The collaboration creates opportunities for international partnerships on quantum security standards, research collaborations with leading quantum institutes, and technology exports as Indian quantum capabilities mature.
The BISAG-N and QNu Labs partnership embodies India's approach to digital sovereignty -building critical security capabilities indigenously, ensuring national security infrastructure remains under national control, and creating industrial capacity for sustained innovation.
As quantum computing advances and cyber threats evolve, nations controlling quantum security technologies possess strategic advantages in protecting digital infrastructure and maintaining trust in digital systems. This MoU positions India among those nations not as a consumer of foreign technologies but as a creator of indigenous solutions.
For organisations protecting long-lived sensitive data, such as defence communications, financial transactions, health records, or citizen information - quantum-resilient security is no longer optional. The BISAG-N and QNu collaboration creates the pathway for deploying this protection across India's critical infrastructure, building the secure digital foundation that Viksit Bharat requires.
