NEW DELHI, OCT 4 (AGENCIES): Indian deep-tech startup QNu Labs, in collaboration with BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar, has successfully demonstrated India’s first free-space quantum key distribution (QKD) link over 5.56 km.
The field trial, conducted on the night of September 27-28, established a secure quantum communication channel between BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar, the IT and electronics ministry said. Using QNu Labs’ pointing, acquisition and tracking system, the trial achieved a stable quantum bit error rate below 5% and generated secure keys at 230-260 bps. The keys were integrated with BISAG-N’s post-quantum cryptography-enabled Vedic Kavach platform, enabling end-to-end encryption and decryption of test messages.
BISAG-N director general Vinay Thakur said the integration marked a significant step towards practical quantum-resilient communication systems.
QNu Labs co-founder and CEO Sunil Gupta said the demonstration paved the way for longer-distance quantum-secure networks and satellite-based quantum communication. IIT Gandhinagar’s Cmde Manish Tripathi (Retd.) said the trial provided a valuable field environment for advancing practical quantum communication technologies and secure communication infrastructure in India.
