MeitY-QCAL to Empower 60 Tech Institutions in Second Cohort with Support
The central government of India has outlined its intention to provide support to over 60 technology institutions in the second cohort of the Quantum Computing Applications Lab (QCAL). QCAL is a collaborative initiative between the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing division of Amazon.
The objective of QCAL is to foster the development and application of quantum computing technology in India. Through this partnership between the government and AWS, technology institutions will receive support, resources, and training to explore the potential of quantum computing and its applications.
MeitY-QCAL, established in January 2021, has been instrumental in driving research and development in the field of quantum computing and enabling new scientific breakthroughs in India. The first cohort of MeitY-QCAL successfully provided cloud-based access to quantum computing services to 16 institutions comprising government entities, researchers, scientists, academia, and developers.
By offering these resources and infrastructure, MeitY-QCAL aimed to accelerate advancements in critical sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, and aerospace engineering.
The initiative’s primary focus is to leverage the power of quantum computing to address complex challenges and drive innovation in key industries. Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize various fields by solving complex computational problems more efficiently and unlocking new possibilities in areas such as drug discovery, optimization, cryptography, and simulation.
MeitY-QCAL’s efforts are geared towards harnessing this potential and fostering collaborations between researchers, academia, and industry to explore the transformative applications of quantum computing across sectors, thereby positioning India at the forefront of quantum technology research and development.
Max Peterson, the Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector at AWS, expressed enthusiasm about the completion of the first cohort of MeitY-QCAL, which included 16 different organizations. Peterson stated that the first cohort provided valuable learnings, and he expressed excitement about the formation of the new cohort, which is expected to involve more than 60 participants.
The expansion of the participant base signifies the growing interest and engagement in quantum computing within India’s research and development ecosystem. AWS, as a partner in MeitY-QCAL, remains committed to supporting the initiative and driving advancements in quantum computing in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
The inaugural cohort of MeitY-QCAL attracted research proposals from esteemed academic institutions across India, including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institutes of Science (IISc.), the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER), the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), the National Institute of Technology (NIT), and the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI). These renowned institutes submitted proposals encompassing a broad spectrum of quantum computing topics.
The research proposals covered various areas within quantum computing, such as quantum computation, quantum information, exploration of quantum algorithms, quantum simulators and hardware, quantum machine learning, optimization problems, and the application of quantum systems in domains like drug discovery and materials research. The wide range of topics highlights the multidisciplinary nature of quantum computing and the diverse potential applications it holds across various scientific and technological fields.
Quantum computing is an emerging field that leverages the principles of quantum mechanics to develop advanced information processing tools. It holds the potential to solve computational problems that surpass the capabilities of classical computers.
Unlike classical computers that use bits to represent information as either a 0 or a 1, quantum computers use quantum bits or qubits, which can exist in multiple states simultaneously due to quantum superposition and entanglement.
This unique property of qubits enables quantum computers to perform complex calculations and algorithms more efficiently for certain types of problems. Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionize various fields, including chemical engineering, material science, drug discovery, financial portfolio optimization, and machine learning.
Amazon Internet Services Pvt Ltd (AISPL) will play a crucial role in supporting MeitY-QCAL by providing technical and programmatic assistance. Through its fully managed quantum computing service, Amazon Braket, AISPL will empower researchers and developers to explore the potential of quantum technology and accelerate their research and discoveries.
Furthermore, AISPL will contribute to the upskilling of project investigators, students, and postdocs involved in these initiatives by organizing workshops and immersion days to familiarize them with the AWS cloud and Amazon Braket platform.
