Overview
- QNu Labs, BISAG‑N and IIT Gandhinagar established the free‑space QKD link on the night of Sunday, September 27, in a field trial that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology publicly reported on October 3.
- The system recorded a Quantum Bit Error Rate below 5 percent, a level compatible with secure key extraction, and generated cryptographic keys at about 230–260 bits per second.
- QNu Labs’ Armos hardware handled the pointing, acquisition and tracking of the optical beam while BISAG‑N’s Vedic Kavach platform used those quantum keys plus quantum random numbers to perform end‑to‑end encryption and decryption of test messages.
- The exercise combined two security layers—hardware QKD for on‑the‑fly key generation and post‑quantum software for continuity when quantum links falter—and was presented as an indigenous, government‑backed step to build domestic capacity.
- Officials said the trial is meant to inform next steps such as longer terrestrial links and satellite demonstrations, and the low key rate and atmospheric challenges point to continued work before the technology can secure high‑volume, everyday communications.