Why in News?
India and the United States today jointly launched a call for proposals on Critical and Emerging Technology: Quantum Technologies and Artificial Intelligence for Transforming Lives.

Context:  
India has recently approved the National Quantum Mission (NQM) with an aim to seed, nurture and scale up scientific and industrial R&D and create a vibrant & innovative ecosystem in Quantum Technology (QT). 
Needless to say, that AI has the potential to address the world’s most pressing challenges and presents tremendous opportunities for economic development
Investments in AI and quantum technology would lead to transformative advances in our everyday lives and greatly benefit our social well-being by impacting healthcare, agriculture, climate change and more. 
So, in this Article, We are going to discuss everything you need to know about Quantum Technology.
 
What is Quantum Technology? 
Quantum Technology is based on the principles of Quantum mechanics that was developed in the early 20th century to describe nature at the scale of atoms and elementary particles.
The first phase of this revolutionary technology has provided the foundations of understanding of the physical world and led to ubiquitous inventions such as lasers and semiconductor transistors.
The second revolution is currently underway with the goal of putting properties of quantum mechanics in the realms of computing.

Advantages of Quantum Technology:  
1. Computing Power: Quantum computers are very much faster than the computers we today have. They also have the capability to solve complex problems that are currently beyond our reach.
2. Security: Quantum mechanics rely on quantum encryption techniques which are much more secure than traditional encryption methods.
3. Communication: Quantum communication networks can transmit information faster and more securely than traditional networks, with the potential for completely unhackable communication.
4. Enhanced Performance of AI: Quantum machine learning algorithms can potentially enable more efficient and accurate training of Artificial Intelligence models.
5. Sensing and Detecting: Quantum sensors can detect extremely small changes in the environment, making them useful in areas such as medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and geological exploration.

Disadvantages of Quantum Technology:  
1. High Cost: The technology requires specialized equipment and materials which make it more expensive than the traditional technologies.
2. Limited Applications: Currently, quantum technology is only useful for specific applications such as cryptography, quantum computing, and quantum communication.
3. Sensitivity to Environment: Quantum technology is highly sensitive to environmental interference, such as temperature changes, magnetic fields, and vibrations.
Qubits are easily disrupted by their surroundings which can cause them to lose their quantum properties and make mistakes in calculations.
4. Limited Control:  Quantum-powered AI could create unintended consequences.
Quantum-powered AI systems could potentially arrive at conclusions that are unexpected or difficult to explain as they operate on principles that are fundamentally different from classical computing.

Key Initiatives taken by the Indian Government:  
1. National Mission on quantum technologies and applications: 
The Government in its 2021 budget allocated INR 8000 Crore towards the National Mission on quantum technologies and applications to spur developments in quantum computing, cryptography, communications, and material science.
2. Quantum Computing Laboratory:
 In December 2021, the Indian Army set up a quantum computing laboratory and an AI centre at a military engineering institute at Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. It is also backed by the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS).
3. Quantum Communication Lab:
 The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) launched a quantum communication lab in October 2021. It can support more than 100 km of standard optical fibre.
4. Collaborations:
 The Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) agreed to collaborate and develop quantum computers.
Recently, India and the United States today jointly launched a call for proposals on Critical and Emerging Technology: Quantum Technologies and Artificial Intelligence for Transforming Lives.
The Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) and the Secretariat for USISTEF have designed the program.
5. I-HUB Quantum Technology Foundation: The Department of Science and Technology and about 13 research groups from IISER Pune launched I-HUB Quantum Technology Foundation (I-HUB QTF) to further enhance the development of quantum tech.
6. Startups: A number of Start-Ups such as Qunu Labs, Bangalore; BosonQ, Bhilai have also emerged and as a result, they are making inroads in this area.

Way Forward:  
Similar to the fast-growing Artificial Intelligence market, quantum computing, as another technology, has created a wave among the countries and companies globally to get into a race and acquire a leadership position.
The need of the hour is:
·         To build sufficient quantum computational capacity
·         Develop skills in building and operationalizing a practical size and affordable cost quantum computer
·         Continue research into realizing the various practical applications
·         Introduce Quantum Technology into the educational courses at undergraduate and post-graduate levels to develop quantum science.
·         Engineering as a discipline at the university level that will produce a large number of science and technology heads.

Mains Question:
  Q: Elaborate the differences between Conventional and Quantum Computing?