UPSC Prelims 2025 Q47: Majorana 1 Chip and Deep Learning — Explained
Consider the following statements:
I. It is expected that Majorana 1 chip will enable quantum computing.
II. Majorana 1 chip has been introduced by Amazon Web Services (AWS).
III. Deep learning is a subset of machine learning.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
- I and II only
- II and III only
- I and III only
- I, II and III
Answer: (c) I and III only
Statement-wise explanation
- I: correct — Microsoft unveiled Majorana 1 on 19 February 2025 and called it the world's first quantum processor built on a 'Topological Core'. The chip holds eight topological qubits. Microsoft says the same architecture is designed to grow to one million qubits on a single palm-sized chip. Scientists still debate how strong the evidence for topological qubits is, but the statement only says the chip is 'expected' to enable quantum computing, and that is exactly the stated aim.
- II: incorrect — Majorana 1 is a Microsoft chip, linked to its Azure Quantum programme. Amazon Web Services announced its own first quantum chip, Ocelot, a week later on 27 February 2025. Ocelot uses superconducting 'cat qubits', not Majorana-based topological qubits. The statement swaps the companies.
- III: correct — Machine learning is the branch of AI in which systems learn patterns from data instead of following hand-written rules. Deep learning is the part of machine learning that uses artificial neural networks with many layers. So the nesting is AI ⊃ machine learning ⊃ deep learning.
How to eliminate
Statement III is standard textbook knowledge: deep learning sits inside machine learning. Once you mark it correct, only the options containing III are left: II and III, I and III, or all three. Statement I is mildly worded ('it is expected… will enable'). The chip's name and the word 'chip' tell you it is quantum hardware, so I is very likely true. That leaves one deciding question: who made Majorana 1? You can't solve this by elimination alone. The fact to remember is Microsoft = Majorana 1 (topological qubits, February 2025), not AWS. AWS's chip is Ocelot (cat qubits), and Google's is Willow (December 2024). UPSC likes to set a trap by swapping companies between similar announcements made around the same time.
Know more
Why qubits fail, and three answers from big tech
A qubit can hold a superposition of 0 and 1, but noise (heat, stray radiation, vibration) quickly destroys that state. This is called decoherence. Fixing these errors normally needs many physical qubits for every reliable 'logical' qubit. Recent chips each take a different route to cutting that cost:
| Chip | Company | Announced | Qubit approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willow | Dec 2024 | Superconducting transmon qubits (105); errors fell as the grid was scaled up | |
| Majorana 1 | Microsoft | 19 Feb 2025 | Topological qubits from Majorana zero modes in a 'topoconductor' (indium arsenide + aluminium); 8 qubits, built to scale to 1 million |
| Ocelot | AWS | 27 Feb 2025 | Bosonic 'cat qubits'; AWS claims up to 90% less error-correction overhead |
Majorana particles. Ettore Majorana predicted them in 1937. A Majorana particle is its own antiparticle. In certain superconducting nanowires, Majorana zero modes appear at the two ends. The qubit's information is spread across both ends, so local noise has a hard time disturbing it. Microsoft's key claim is protection from errors 'by design'. Its Nature paper did not settle whether the observed states are truly topological.
AI hierarchy
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Artificial intelligence | Machines doing tasks that need human-like intelligence |
| Machine learning | AI that learns patterns from data |
| Deep learning | ML that uses multi-layer neural networks (image recognition, speech, LLMs) |
| Generative AI | Mostly deep-learning models (e.g. transformers) that create text, images and code |
India link: The National Quantum Mission (approved April 2023, ₹6,003.65 crore, 2023-24 to 2030-31) targets 50–1,000 physical-qubit computers within eight years.
In the news
Microsoft unveiled Majorana 1 on 19 February 2025, and AWS announced its Ocelot chip on 27 February 2025. Both were in the news in the three months before the May 2025 Prelims, which made a question built on swapping the companies an easy one to set.