Pariksha SaathiTDB-DST signs Rs 150 crore RDI Fund agreement with QNu Labs for India's quantum-secure and sensing network stack
The Technology Development Board (TDB) of the Department of Science and Technology signed an agreement on 16 October 2026 with QNu Labs Private Limited, Bengaluru, for financial support of Rs 150 crore under the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund, provided as optionally convertible debt. The Rs 300 crore project is to build an indigenous technology backbone for India's Quantum Secure and Sensing Networks (IQSN), taking a portfolio of technologies from Technology Readiness Levels 4-5 to TRL-9. It is organised around four pillars: identity security (quantum-secure physical unclonable functions and quantum-safe trusted platform modules for device identity), location integrity (compact quantum magnetometers and GPS-denied navigation), network security (chip-based and satellite-based quantum key distribution with secure communication modules) and time integrity (indigenous atomic clock technology and QKD-authenticated time synchronisation). TDB Secretary Rajesh Kumar Pathak said the RDI Fund supports technologies that need sustained investment to move from research to deployable systems for defence, telecom, finance and critical infrastructure.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
The Technology Development Board is a statutory body under the Technology Development Board Act, 1995, in the Department of Science and Technology, that funds Indian companies commercialising indigenous technology. The National Quantum Mission was approved by the Union Cabinet in April 2023 with an outlay of Rs 6,003.65 crore for 2023-24 to 2030-31. Technology Readiness Levels run from TRL 1 (basic principles observed) to TRL 9 (system proven in operation). Quantum key distribution (QKD) uses quantum properties of light to share encryption keys so that eavesdropping can be detected.
Reference: Technology Development Board official website
Check yourself: is the Rs 150 crore a grant?
No. The release says the support is provided as optionally convertible debt (OCD), which the company repays or which can convert into equity, towards a Rs 300 crore project.
Revision task: from this release, note the amount, the instrument, the TRL journey (4-5 to 9) and the four pillars, and keep them apart from the standing facts about TDB and the National Quantum Mission above.
Test yourself
The Rs 150 crore support that TDB-DST agreed on 16 October 2026 to give QNu Labs for India's quantum-secure and sensing network stack comes from which fund?
Show the answer
Answer: Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund
The support is under the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund, as optionally convertible debt, for a Rs 300 crore project built on four pillars: identity security, location integrity, network security and time integrity.
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