The State Government has issued an order constituting the Karnataka Quantum Task Force, with the goal of establishing the State as a national hub for quantum technology and innovation.

Arindam Ghosh, JRD Tata Chair Professor, and J.C. Bose National Fellow in the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, has been appointed as chairperson of the task force. The Director of the Department of Science and Technology (Government of Karnataka), and Managing Director of KSTEPS, will serve as the member-secretaries.

The task force has been formed to effectively implement the outlines and strategies of the ‘Karnataka Quantum Roadmap’, which was recently unveiled at the Quantum India Bengaluru Summit. The Department of Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology, and Science & Technology issued the order in this regard.

Ambitious goals

According to the government, the task force will provide the necessary policy formulation, strategic direction, and institutional guidance to foster quantum technology research, innovation, startup support, and industrial adoption in Karnataka.

The committee will be responsible for blueprinting and overseeing the development of key cutting-edge infrastructure in Karnataka, including the mega Quantum City in Hesaraghatta.

16-member committee

The 16-member committee comprises prominent experts from academic institutions, research centres, the tech industry, and senior government officials.

Key members of the task force from academia include Urbasi Sinha from Raman Research Institute, B. Gurumoorthy from FSID, IISc, Akshay Naik from Quantum Research Park, Ajith Padyan from VTU-VRIF Centre for Deep Technologies, Rajesh Gopakumar from ICTS, and Taslimarif Saiyed from C-CAMP.

The industry representatives include L Venkata Subramanian, CEO at Qbit Force, Nagendra Nagaraj from QPiAi, Naganand Doreswamy from Idea Spring, S Sudhakaran from QuGates Technologies, and Seema Ambastha from L&T Datacenter and Cloud Services.

Principal Secretary - Commerce and Industries Department, Secretary - Higher Education Department, and Secretary - Department of ITBT and Science & Technology, will also be part of the committee.