IBM has participated actively when the Quantum mission was launched by the government and India has the right foresight to be ahead in understanding and experimenting with quantum computing technology. However, the mainstream usage of this technology in India will take at least three to four years. IBM will be doing a large-scale deployment of Quantum computing through the Quantum Valley Tech Park project in the state of Andhra Pradesh. These observations were made by Sandip Patel, Managing Director for IBM India and South Asia.
IBM and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) are partnering with the Government of Andhra Pradesh to set up India's largest quantum computer at the new Quantum Valley Tech Park in Amaravati.
“The quantum computer that will be deployed at the Quantum Valley is important, but what is more important is the ecosystem that will be developed around it. Over the last two to three years, we have been working with many Indian institutions to both drive the right level of skill in education in quantum technology. It's really about how we develop skills in quantum computing technology,” Patel told THE WEEK on the sidelines of the IBM Think event in Mumbai.
Hans Dekkers, General Manager, IBM Asia Pacific APAC head, said that IBM research has worked quite extensively at the global level with HSBC Bank, where the bank solved problems in algorithmic bond trading with the help of quantum computing. IBM has also worked with the Cleveland Clinic in Quantum computing for clinical trials.
“The possibilities with Quantum open up a whole new paradigm of problem-solving mechanisms. I am encouraged by transformative technologies such as hybrid cloud to AI for enterprise and government and then Quantum computing in the future. All these technologies are very much interconnected,” said Dekkers.
IBM Quantum System Two installation, with a 156-qubit Heron quantum processor, is expected to be the largest quantum computer in India as currently envisioned. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is also partnering with IBM to support the development of algorithms and applications that will help the Indian industry and academia solve some of the nation’s most challenging problems. In that regard, TCS and IBM had also signed an agreement that will make cloud access to IBM’s cloud-based quantum computers available to scientists and technologists in the region. The Government of Andhra Pradesh, IBM and TCS hope to accelerate the development of India’s quantum ecosystem through this initiative.
