(GreaterKashmir) A Technology Innovation Hub on Quantum Technologies has been set up in Pune. It is an initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the IISER, Pune. It has been named as the I-Hub Quantum Technology Foundation (I-Hub QTF).
The I-Hub QTF will aim to develop quantum computers, quantum communication devices and systems, novel quantum materials and sensors for day-to-day applications. The hub comprises 13 research groups from the IISER, Pune. It will network with over 20 participating institutes in India and many collaborators from universities and institutions abroad. The DST has sanctioned Rs 170 crores over five years for developing this hub.
The hub will enable incubation of start-up companies, develop skill sets, conduct workshops and courses, and develop state-of-the-art research infrastructure distributed over various collaborating institutes and the hub.
“I-Hub QTF will help India carry out cutting-edge research and development in a field that is at the frontier of the new technologies that will revolutionize our way of living over the next few decades. We are very happy that IISER Pune has been given the opportunity to play a big part in developing this technology in India”, said IISER Director JayantUdgaonkar.
Pune is widely regarded as the second major “IT hub of India” and the top “automobile and manufacturing hub of India”.[30] It is known as the Oxford of the East with the presence of a wide range of educational institutions. The city has emerged as a major educational hub in recent decades, with nearly half of the total number of international students in the country studying in Pune. Research institutes of information technology, education, management and training have attracted students and professionals from India and overseas.