CM Naidu launches quantum facility in Amaravati to boost indigenous hardware ecosystem
_vb_99.jpeg)
Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday launched a quantum reference facility here aimed at building India’s "first sovereign hardware ecosystem" and accelerating indigenous manufacturing of advanced computing systems.
The CM launched the facility at a private college in the greenfield capital city, dedicating the AQRF, comprising Amaravati 1S and Amaravati 1Q, to the nation.
Developed under the Amaravati Quantum Valley initiative, the systems are India’s "first indigenously built" open-access quantum computers, designed, assembled, and tested domestically with a supply chain spanning multiple institutions.
The launch, held on World Quantum Day, is expected to position Amaravati as a "major global hub for quantum technologies" and the anchor node of a future national network of quantum facilities.
Amaravati Quantum Reference Facility is India’s national quantum hardware testing ground, enabling validation, benchmarking, and certification of quantum components under real operating conditions, according to an earlier press release.
The facility addresses a major global gap where access to quantum hardware remains restricted, expensive, or opaque, limiting India’s ability to test and develop its own components.
AQRF will function as a fully instrumented platform where researchers, startups, and industry can directly access, observe, and test components such as processors, cryogenic systems, amplifiers, and control electronics.
The initiative is built on a predominantly domestic supply chain, with around 85 per cent of components manufactured within India, marking the "first time a full-stack quantum system" has been assembled indigenously, the press release said.
The facility also aims to break "global monopolies" in critical subsystems such as dilution refrigerators, control electronics, and precision hardware.
The project has been executed through a consortium consisting of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and others, which acted as the system integrator.
The manufacturing of quantum systems requires a reference facility where components can be tested at extreme temperatures close to minus 273 degrees Celsius, the lowest possible in the universe, to activate qubits and ensure performance, Chief Minister’s Secretary P S Pradyumna said earlier.
Unlike imported systems that operate as closed "black boxes", AQRF allows full visibility and hands-on access, enabling students and researchers to study and innovate directly.
The facility will also support workforce development, benchmarking standards, and certification frameworks, while enabling government and industry procurement of validated quantum components.
The state government is also focusing on large-scale skilling initiatives and plans to develop a dedicated quantum hardware ecosystem to support manufacturing and innovation, he said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
