QNu Labs, India’s pioneer in quantum-secure digital infrastructure, has successfully demonstrated the country’s first free-space Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) link at a distance of 5.56 km. The trial was conducted in collaboration with the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N), an autonomous scientific society under MeitY focused on space technology and satellite communication, and IIT Gandhinagar, a leading engineering and technology institute founded in 2008.
How the Trial Worked
The field trial, conducted on the night of September 27-28, established a secure quantum communication channel between BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar. Using QNu Labs’ Pointing, Acquisition and Tracking system, the trial achieved a stable Quantum Bit Error Rate below 5%, while generating secure keys at a rate of 230-260 bits per second. These keys were then integrated with BISAG-N’s post-quantum cryptography enabled Vedic Kavach platform, successfully completing end-to-end encryption and decryption of test messages.
Two Layers of Security, Working Together
The demonstration combined two complementary layers of quantum security. QNu Labs’ hardware-based QKD device, Armos, handled transmission over free-space optical channels, while BISAG-N’s Vedic Kavach added software-based post-quantum cryptography with quantum random number generation. This layered architecture is designed to stay resilient even if the physical quantum channel becomes temporarily unavailable, since the software layer can continue functioning independently.
What the Organizations Involved Had to Say
Dr. Vinay Thakur, Director General of BISAG-N, said the integration of Vedic Kavach with QNu Labs’ QKD technology marks a significant step toward practical, quantum-resilient communication systems.
Sunil Gupta, Co-founder and CEO of QNu Labs, said the successful 5.56 km demonstration opens the door to longer-distance quantum-secure networks, as well as satellite-based quantum communication in the future.
Cmde Manish Tripathi (Retd.) In-charge of ISTF at IIT Gandhinagar, added that the demonstration provides a valuable real-world environment for advancing practical quantum communication technologies, and shows how academia, indigenous technology, and real-world experimentation can come together to meet emerging secure communication needs.
Why This Matters
The trial lays a foundation for strengthening India’s secure communication infrastructure, building resilience specifically against security threats expected to emerge in the quantum computing era, where traditional encryption methods could eventually become vulnerable to quantum powered attacks.
