MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank has set up an eight-member expert panel under the leadership of Dr Anil Prabhakar, professor, at the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, as the convener to study the implications of the risks to the financial system from adoption of quantum technology.
In a statement the RBI said on Monday though quantum technology, which represents a paradigm shift compared to traditional systems as it leverages principles of quantum mechanics like superposition and entanglement, enabling quantum systems to address complex financial problems such as portfolio optimisation, risk assessment, macroeconomic modelling etc, this technology can also spawn significant risks with the potential to undermine certain existing cryptographic standards.
“To examine the related issues, it has been decided to constitute an expert committee for a quantum secure and adaptive financial ecosystem (Q-Safe) under Dr Prabhakar of IIT Madras”, the RBI said.
The other members of the panel are Sunil Kumar, additional secretary, department of science & technology; Satish Rao Nagesh, deputy managing director of SBI; Dilip Asbe, chief executive of NPCI, Manoj Kumar Jain, group coordinator at the ministry of electronics and information technology; Vinayak Godse, chief executive of the Data Security Council of India; Dr L Venkata Subraaniam, Quantum India servant leader and ex-IBM quantum India head, and Suvendu Pati, chief general manager, fintech department, RBI as member-secretary.
The main terms of the panel is to explore and evaluate the potential benefits, risks and challenges in the financial sector; evaluate the financial sector's cryptographic inventory through a cryptography bill of materials (CBOM), assess crypto agility and identify the critical systems and processes most vulnerable to such threats; and to undertake a cross-country analysis and assess the adequacy of existing regulatory frameworks for safe deployment of quantum applications.
The other objectives include evaluating industry preparedness for quantum-safe cryptography adoption, including the availability, scalability, and maturity of vendor tools and solutions and recommending a roadmap and framework to quantum-secure the nation’s financial system.
The committee will submit its report within six months from the date of its first meeting, the statement said.