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In an effort to bolster India’s position in the sphere of quantum and 6G technologies, the Telecom Centre of Excellence (TCOE) India and Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) in Karnataka have joined hands to establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in quantum technology and related areas. 

The centre, headquartered at VTU-Visvesvaraya Research and Innovation Foundation (VRIF) Bangalore, aims to accelerate India’s progress across these key sectors and is part of the 100-day programme, according to the Ministry of Communications.

The CoE is designed on a hub-and-spoke model for innovation with VTU-VRIF and TCOE India serving as the central hub.

According to the government, leveraging the intellectual and infrastructural strengths of VTU’s 228 affiliated colleges, the CoE will act as a key facilitator in research and development.

Through this model, the CoE will streamline cutting-edge research, foster collaboration, and rapidly scale innovations across Quantum and associated 5G/6G Technologies.

The hub will have vertical focussed innovation groups and get the best experts among the affiliated colleges, said the ministry.

The centre will enhance synergy among key organisations working in telecom standardisation such as Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) Bharat 6G Alliance, TSDSI, Academic Network and the startup ecosystem.

It will empower over 400,000 students, more than 2,000 PhDs, and numerous researchers across VTU’s network to streamline R&D and drive the commercialisation of ground-breaking innovations.

According to Ajai Chowdhury, Chairman, Mission Governing Board, National Quantum Mission, there are about 600 scientists and 50 startups working in quantum technology in the country.

The country launched the National Quantum Mission in April 2023 to build capabilities in quantum-related science and technology.

“As we started to work, we looked at how many scientists and PIs are working in this field and found that India had around 600 scientists and 40 to 50 start-ups in quantum technology,” Chowdhury said last month. He added that the country is doing “tremendous amounts of work” in the sector.