Bilaspur scholars unveil India’s 1st quantum-secured defence device

 

 

 

 

IN A RARE convergence of military precision and academic brilliance, a group of engineer- ing scholars from LCIT Engineering College, Bilaspur, has achieved a national milestone by designing a fully functional Quantum Cryptography-Based Secure Communication Device - specifically engineered for defence and battlefield communication.

 

This breakthrough project, developed under the mentorship of Professor Amit Awasthi, has already been filed for patent protection with the Government of India and presented before defence experts and NCC units at a national camp. Speaking exclusively to ‘The Hitavada’, Prof. Amit Awasthi shared, “In the present era of high-tech warfare where satellite-guided missile systems, drones and cyber-attacks are shaping the future of defence, India needs quantum-resilient solutions. Our device lever- ages the principles of quantum key distribu- tion (QKD) to ensure communication security even against future quantum computer attacks.” Backed by extensive research and a recently published international journal paper, the project was showcased during the Combined Annual Training Camp (CATC) of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) on July 4, 2025. The demonstration drew an audience of over 600 NCC cadets and several defence l... officials, including Lt. Col. Lokesh Deva of the 7 CG Battalion, who praised the innovation and personally felicitated the student team.

 

 

The core team, working under the project name Avishkar, comprises scholars Adarsh Dande, Harsh Thawait, Basu Kaushal, Ayushman Jangde, and Pratik Srivastava. The project blends academ- ic rigour with tactical readiness, employing QKD protocols such as BB84 and E91 to enable secure military-grade encryption that is inher- ently immune to interception or hacking. According to the project’s research document published in the International Research Journal of Modernization in Engineering, Technology and Science (IRJMETS), the device uses super- conducting photon detectors and telecom- grade fibre optics to transmit encrypted keys at a rate of 1 Mbps over 150 km via fibre and 50 km in free-space satellite links. The system also includes NATO-grade compatibility for interoperability with allied forces. “Today, traditional encryption like RSA or AES stands vulnerable to quantum algorithms like Shor’s. Our approach doesn’t just aim to delay an attack - it renders it fundamentally impossible,” said Prof. Awasthi. “The future is not about faster encryption but unbreakable ones.” Interestingly, the device integrates post- quantum cryptographic algorithms with real- time threat monitoring, quantum digital sig- natures, zero-trust authentication, and AI-driv- en anomaly detection, making it a next-generation communication backbone for India’s command-and-control systems.

 

The scholars also pointed out the looming threat posed by platforms like Starlink, which can potentially expose national data to foreign surveillance. “With India’s first quantum com- puter by QpiAI launched in April 2025, it’s time we create parallel indigenous security archi- tectures,” said scholar Harsh Thawait. In recog- nition of their innovation, the LCIT Avishkar team was felicitated at the NCC event with gold medals and certificates of excellence. Prof. Awasthi was personally commended by NCC leadership for his visionary approach and tech- nical guidance that bridges the gap between classroom theories and frontline defence needs.

 

The design registration (Application No. 463037- 001) is currently under technical examination at India’s Intellectual Property Office. The nov- elty lies in the tamper-proof casing and mod- ular construction of the communication device, as detailed in patent visuals and documents made exclusively available to this newspaper.