CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has begun laying the foundations for quantum technologies, with the State Planning Commission constituting a working group to frame a dedicated quantum strategy, its member secretary Sudha Ramen said.
Speaking at the second edition of the Chennai Economic Summit on Saturday, hosted by the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) in collaboration with the State Planning Commission, Ramen said the proposed strategy would move beyond narrow applications such as quantum communication to focus on building a wider ecosystem spanning education, research and early-stage capability development.
“Quantum cannot be treated as a standalone technology,” she said. “If it is going to shape the future, the real question is whether our students and future workforce are being exposed to it early enough.”
The strategy, she added, would place particular emphasis on education, beginning at the school level, to demystify frontier concepts and prevent them from being seen as the preserve of a small pool of specialists.
Unlike conventional digital technologies, quantum computing and related fields draw heavily on physics and chemistry rather than computer science alone, creating a pedagogical challenge.
To address this, the working group has brought in domain experts to help design simplified learning material that can make the subject accessible to a broader student base.
Institutions such as IIT Madras, one of four centres under India’s National Quantum Mission with a focus on quantum communication, are expected to play a supporting role in shaping the State’s approach.
Alongside quantum, the Planning Commission is also advancing work on artificial intelligence and blockchain. Ramen pushed back against concerns that AI would inevitably destroy jobs, arguing that its horizontal application across sectors would instead create demand for new skills and roles.
Blockchain, by contrast, is being approached more cautiously. While several government use cases have been identified, the absence of globally settled protocols and continuing concerns around transaction security mean that adoption will need to be carefully calibrated.
The summit also featured a strong international and industry focus. Hambyrajen Narsinghen, Junior Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mauritius, positioned the island nation as a strategic gateway to Africa for Indian companies, urging exporters to diversify markets amid shifting trade dynamics and tariff tensions with the United States.
He cautioned that China’s expanding footprint across Africa made speed and strategic coordination essential for Indian firms seeking to scale their presence on the continent.
V N Shiva Shankar, senior vice-president of SICCI, said micro, small and medium enterprises, the backbone of Tamil Nadu’s economy, would need to be integrated into digital and innovation-driven value chains if the State’s $1 trillion economic target was to be realised. That, he argued, would require closer and more sustained collaboration between government, industry and technology providers.
The ethical and workforce implications of artificial intelligence were addressed by Ben John, vice-president for AI at Microsoft, who underscored the importance of responsible AI deployment and continuous upskilling.
Industry–academia collaboration, he said, would be critical to preparing workers for an AI-driven economy, rather than responding belatedly to disruption.