Chief Minister Naidu Inaugurates Open-Access Quantum Reference Facilities at Amaravati and Gannavaram
Amaravati, April 14: Andhra Pradesh took a significant stride in India's quantum technology ambitions on Monday as Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the country's first open-access quantum reference facility at SRM University in Amaravati, while virtually launching a second facility — Amaravati Quantum Reference Facility-2 — at Medha Towers in Gannavaram. The twin inaugurations, held on the occasion of World Quantum Day and the birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar, mark the state's emergence as India's first quantum technology hub.
The two systems — Amaravati 1S, housed at SRM University, and Amaravati 1Q, located at Medha Towers — are fully functional hardware test beds designed to enable validation, benchmarking, and certification of quantum systems under real operating conditions. Mr. Naidu described the facilities as platforms that would allow India not merely to study quantum technology, but to build, test, refine and trust it.
"For too long, India missed major global breakthroughs in hardware and products. Quantum gives India a once-in-a-generation opportunity to develop hardware," the Chief Minister said, adding that the state government remained committed to producing an indigenous quantum computer from Amaravati in the near future. "There is no dearth of funds for innovation," he asserted.
Underlining the broader social potential of the technology, Mr. Naidu said that when quantum computing accelerates drug discovery, citizens would have access to better medicines, and when it improves optimisation, farmers would be able to enhance productivity. "Technology should empower every citizen," he said, calling for innovation to spread across society rather than remain confined to a few institutions. He also urged public universities to compete with private institutions in fostering innovation and start-up ecosystems.
A notable highlight of the project is that, for the first time in India, a quantum system has been assembled using a predominantly domestic supply chain, marking a milestone in the country's scientific self-reliance. The effort drew on contributions from several premier institutions: the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, supplied superconducting qubit processors and Josephson parametric amplifiers; the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, contributed device design and characterisation; and the Defence Research and Development Agency's DYSL unit in Pune provided quantum control electronics. Private entities including Amber Enterprises, Qbit Force, Qute Electronics, and Dimira contributed dilution refrigerator systems, precision current and voltage sources, and cryogenic wiring and interconnects respectively.
Mr. Naidu noted that his vision for a quantum facility was realised within eight months, crediting the collaborative effort of quantum scientists, hardware experts, and multiple institutions working under a unified national mission. He said the twin facilities would create opportunities not only for scientists but also for hardware engineers, cryogenic specialists, control system designers, fabrication experts, and software developers.
The event was also addressed by Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India; AP State Quantum Mission Director C.V. Sridhar; Qbit Force founder L. Venkata Subramaniam; Qubitec founder Prudhvi Pinnaka; DRDO NHTL Director General R.V. Haraprasad; and SRM University Vice-Chancellor Ch. Satishkumar, among others.
