The Reserve Bank of India has constituted an eight-member committee to examine questions linked to quantum technology and draw up a roadmap and framework aimed at making India’s financial system quantum-secure.
The group will be led by Anil Prabhakar, professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Madras.
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Secretarial assistance to the committee will be handled by the RBI’s FinTech Department at its Central Office.
According to the central bank, the committee can call on subject specialists, industry participants, RBI divisions and other stakeholders whenever needed for consultation and participation in its discussions.
Suvendu Pati, chief general manager in the RBI’s fintech department, has been named Member-Secretary.
The committee has been asked to review the likely advantages, risks and operational challenges associated with quantum technology in finance.
Its mandate also covers an assessment of the sector’s cryptographic inventory through a Cryptography Bill of Materials (CBOM), a review of crypto agility, and identification of the systems and processes seen as most exposed to such threats.
In addition, the panel will conduct a comparison across countries and examine whether current regulatory arrangements are adequate for the safe use of quantum applications.
It will also review how prepared the industry is to adopt quantum-safe cryptography, including the availability, scalability and maturity of vendor tools and solutions.
The committee has also been asked to propose a roadmap and framework to quantum-secure the Indian financial system, along with considering any other matters connected to that objective.
The panel is required to submit its report within six months of its first meeting.
Other members of the committee are Sunil Kumar, Additional secretary in the department of science and technology; Satish Rao Nagesh, deputy managing director at SBI; Dilip Asbe, MD and CEO of NPCI; Manoj Kumar Jain, scientist-G and group coordinator at MeitY; Vinayak Godse, CEO of DSCI; and L Venkata Subramaniam, Quantum India Servant leader and former IBM Quantum India Head.
