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India and Australia must turn quantum research into industry
India and Australia have a foundation for cooperation in quantum sensing and post-quantum cybersecurity.
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India and Australia’s July partnership on cyber, critical technologies and supply chains creates a route from diplomatic alignment to industrial cooperation, where both nations stand to benefit. Quantum technology offers a practical test for the bilateral relationship. India brings public investment and emerging firms; Australia has companies working on quantum control and sensing, with applications in mining, water management and cybersecurity. Connecting these strengths around customers could produce products and services for both markets and support supply chains that extend beyond them.
But the partnership will strengthen India’s quantum industry only if Indian firms gain durable roles in design, engineering, production and exports. That means joint development around customer needs, buyers involved from the outset, and a clear path from trials to procurement. India should use Australian expertise and test environments to help domestic firms win orders, build capabilities and sustain innovation.
The two ecosystems offer useful starting points. Australia’s Q-CTRL works on quantum control software and sensing, while Nomad Atomics develops gravity sensors for mineral exploration and groundwater monitoring. Indian technology companies can help translate specialist capabilities into industrial applications. Tata Consultancy Services’ partnership with IBM in Andhra Pradesh, for example, centres on developing quantum algorithms and applications. The bilateral opportunity lies in combining such capabilities around specific customer needs, with Indian teams participating in design and product development.
Some connections already exist. Q-CTRL has worked with Tamil Nadu on quantum education and expanded its Indian reseller network. The Australia–India Strategic Research Fund has backed quantum-related projects, including work on gravimeters for critical-mineral exploration. These relationships provide people and institutions familiar with working together. The next step should bring customers into the process, so that collaborative research can progress towards products that businesses will purchase and maintain.
India has made its own ambitions clear. In October, the Technology Development Board signed an agreement providing ₹150 crore in support for QNu Labs under the Research Development and Innovation Fund. A partnership with Australia must advance this effort to build Indian suppliers. Agreements should specify which partner develops each part of a product, who can manufacture it and how both can earn revenue from sales abroad. Otherwise, Indian participation could remain concentrated in distribution and routine implementation.
Procurement policy makes these questions consequential. India’s Public Procurement Preference to Make in India Order rewards local value addition in central government purchasing. Class I suppliers generally require at least 50% local content, subject to the applicable rules and exemptions. Imported products bought through local distributors do not become Indian content. Cooperation, therefore, needs substantive domestic engineering and production, assessed against tender requirements. Government support should also track whether these activities build skills and competitive suppliers.
The constraints extend beyond market access. NITI Aayog’s quantum roadmap identifies dependence on imported specialist components and difficulties accessing overseas customers. These reinforce each other: expensive inputs can delay product development, while weak customer relationships make investment harder to justify. Joint component development and access to Australian test sites could help Indian firms demonstrate reliability and secure the references needed to compete internationally. Australia would gain additional suppliers and access to Indian customers.
A bilateral programme should therefore fund paid trials with firms from both countries and a customer involved from the outset. India’s Department of Science and Technology and Australia’s industry department could coordinate the calls, with each funding domestic participants. Contracts should define performance and operating-cost targets, with options for further orders when those targets are met. Independent comparisons with existing technologies would protect buyers and prevent public support from sustaining applications that offer little practical value.
Quantum-safe cybersecurity offers an immediate opportunity. Australia’s Signals Directorate recommends completing the transition to post-quantum cryptography by the end of 2030. This creates potential work for Indian software and security companies helping organisations assess and upgrade their systems. Deakin University and IIT Madras already collaborate on migration research. Joint trials with banks and telecommunications operators could turn that knowledge into deployable services. Post-quantum cryptography runs on conventional computers; its adoption does not require waiting for powerful quantum machines.
Sensing offers a parallel route into hardware. Mining and water-management trials could bring Indian engineers into instrument integration, calibration and field maintenance. These activities could create skilled employment while generating evidence of where quantum sensors improve decisions. Scaling should follow demonstrated performance, with clear responsibilities for servicing and supply.
Such cooperation also requires discipline over ownership and security. Contracts should protect existing inventions and allocate rights to jointly developed improvements. India should seek durable design and export capabilities, while recognising Australia’s interest in retaining its own technology. AUKUS licencing exemptions do not automatically extend to India, so controlled transfers require separate assessment.
The strategic return would come from Indian firms becoming valuable partners in international production. Companies that help design products, maintain them and sell them across markets acquire capabilities that can outlast a single government programme. That is the outcome India should seek from a quantum partnership with Australia.
(The views expressed are personal)
This article is authored by Simran Keshwani, political economist, founder and research lead, IndiaForth.
