India’s Finance Minister Places Quantum Among Next Major Infrastructure Investment Priorities

Insider Brief

• India’s next major infrastructure investments will include quantum technology, AI and semiconductor chips, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, according to the Hindustan Times.
• Sitharaman called for academia and industry to work together to build capabilities, although the report specified no new quantum funding allocation or investment timetable.
• She rejected claims that India had fallen behind in AI and quantum, saying stock-market listings were an inadequate measure of domestic technology activity.
• Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

India’s next major infrastructure investments will include quantum technology alongside artificial intelligence and semiconductor chips, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, according to the Hindustan Times.

Speaking at a fireside chat organized by the IIT Madras Alumni Association, Sitharaman called for academia and industry to work together to build capabilities in those fields. India needs to accelerate development of the hardware, skills and institutions required to use emerging technologies, the newspaper reported.

Her remarks place quantum technology within a broader push to develop India’s computing and industrial capabilities.