FACT CHECK: Did Nirmala Sitharaman endorse 'Quantum AI' investment platform? Centre clarifies

The Centre on Sunday made a major statement on the circulation of some reports that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had endorsed an investment platform due to its allegedly high returns.

The reports claimed that investors could earn up to Rs 3,00,000 with just an investment of Rs 22,000 into the platform—all with the alleged assurance of the government, as 'Quantum AI' had reportedly been given "official status".

According to PIB Fact Check, one of the government's fact-checking arms, such reports talking about the FM endorsing 'Quantum AI' were "fake".

"Neither the Union Finance Minister nor the Government of India is endorsing any such investment scheme or platform," it wrote in a post on X.

In fact, the name 'Quantum AI' has often been associated with Google—it is the tech giant's research division focused on advancing quantum computing—in addition to the investment platform in question, which could have given the claim a false sense of legitimacy.

The viral screenshot also resembled a news article from a reputed news platform, adding to the weight of the false claim.

However, this is not the first time that 'Quantum AI' has been flagged by the Centre for such claims.

Earlier this month, PIB Fact Check had also debunked similar claims of Sitharaman backing the platform's offer of upto Rs 4,00,000 for an investment of Rs 22,000.

In May, the fact-checking arm of the Centre also debunked claims of a webpage falsely impersonating the National Portal of India to promote 'Quantum AI' investment schemes, promising citizens similar fortunes.