UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Centre clears ‘quantum lab’ installation at 23 institutions

Q1. With reference to the National Quantum Mission (NQM) and its precursor proposal, the National Mission on Quantum Technologies and Applications (NM-QTA), consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. NM-QTA, proposed in the Union Budget 2020, envisaged an indicative outlay of ₹8,000 crore over five years, whereas NQM has an approved outlay of ₹6,003.65 crore over eight years.
  2. Unlike NM-QTA, the NQM is implemented under the Department of Biotechnology rather than the Department of Science and Technology.
  3. NQM, unlike the NM-QTA proposal, sets an explicit eight-year target of developing intermediate-scale quantum computers with 50–1,000 physical qubits.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. Under the National Quantum Mission, which one of the following institutions hosts the lead Thematic Hub (T-Hub) for Quantum Computing?

  • A. IIT Bombay
  • B. IIT Madras
  • C. Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
  • D. IIT Delhi

Q3. Under the National Quantum Mission, which of the following are correctly matched as Thematic Hubs (T-Hubs) and their nodal host institutions?

  1. Quantum Computing — Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
  2. Quantum Communication — IIT Madras (with C-DOT)
  3. Quantum Sensing and Metrology — IIT Delhi
  4. Quantum Materials and Devices — IIT Bombay
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q4. As cleared by the Centre in March 2026 under the National Quantum Mission, in how many academic institutions has the establishment of quantum teaching laboratories been approved?

  • A. 13
  • B. 23
  • C. 43
  • D. 100

Q5. In the context of the National Quantum Mission's communication targets, the term 'Quantum Key Distribution (QKD)' refers to:

  • A. A cryptographic technique that uses quantum-mechanical properties of photons to share encryption keys between two parties such that any eavesdropping is detectable
  • B. A protocol for distributing computational sub-tasks across a network of quantum processors to achieve quantum advantage
  • C. A method for entangling qubits across satellite ground stations to accelerate quantum computation
  • D. A cryogenic technique for stabilising superconducting qubits below the decoherence threshold