Punjab National Bank (PNB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Andhra Pradesh on July 23, 2026, to establish the PNB Quantum Finance Hub at the Amaravati Quantum Valley (AQV). The hub, inaugurated by PNB Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ashok Chandra, is India’s first bank-led quantum finance facility dedicated to the banking sector. With this partnership, PNB became the first bank in India to collaborate with a state government to build a specialised quantum finance facility.
Punjab National Bank and the Andhra Pradesh Quantum Mission
The MoU was exchanged in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and PNB MD and CEO Ashok Chandra at the State Secretariat. Under the agreement, the hub will be set up at the Amaravati Quantum Computing Centre, which operates under the Andhra Pradesh Quantum Mission.
The hub will function as a collaborative platform bringing together banks, industry partners, academic institutions, startups, research organisations and government agencies. Its core focus areas include strengthening cybersecurity in banking, developing advanced systems for proactive financial fraud detection, building secure digital financial ecosystems using quantum technologies, and encouraging research in Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies. The facility will also work on skill development to create a trained workforce capable of driving digital transformation in the financial sector.
PNB, the country’s first Swadeshi bank, was founded in 1894 by Dyal Singh Majithia and Lala Harkishen Lal in Lahore. It was nationalised in 1969 and is now headquartered in Dwarka, New Delhi. The bank is a Government of India undertaking listed on the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange. Ashok Chandra assumed charge as PNB’s MD and CEO on January 16, 2025, having previously served as Executive Director at Canara Bank.
What Is the Amaravati Quantum Valley?
The Amaravati Quantum Valley (AQV) is a planned quantum technology park in Andhra Pradesh’s capital city, Amaravati. It is designed as a dedicated ecosystem for research and innovation in quantum computing and related technologies. The government expects the facility to attract investments worth $1 billion and create a vibrant deep-tech hub in the region.
The AQV project took shape in March 2025 when the Andhra Pradesh government announced plans to establish a quantum valley as part of India’s National Quantum Mission. In May 2025, the state government signed MoUs with IBM and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to deploy India’s largest quantum computer at the tech park, featuring a 156-qubit IBM Heron processor as part of a Quantum System Two installation. The state also launched the Andhra Pradesh Quantum Computing Policy (2025-30), which aims to establish an open quantum testbed called QChipIN, build industry partnerships, and create a skilled workforce.
The Andhra Pradesh government constituted the Amaravati Quantum Computing Centre (AQCC) as a government company under the Companies Act, 2013, to drive this initiative forward. The establishment of the PNB Quantum Finance Hub is the latest milestone in this journey, bringing the banking sector directly into the quantum innovation ecosystem.
The National Quantum Mission: India’s Big Bet
The broader framework supporting these developments is the National Quantum Mission (NQM), approved by the Union Cabinet on April 19, 2023, with a total outlay of ₹6,003.65 crore for the period from 2023-24 to 2030-31. The mission aims to seed, nurture and scale up scientific and industrial research and development in quantum technology, positioning India among the leading nations in this field.
Under NQM, four Thematic Hubs (T-Hubs) have been established in the areas of quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum sensing and metrology, and quantum materials and devices. More than 150 researchers from 43 institutions across 17 states and two Union Territories are involved in the mission’s 14 thematic groups. The mission also supports startups in the quantum domain, with eight startups already onboarded through exclusive guidelines.
The mission’s specific deliverables include developing intermediate-scale quantum computers with 50 to 1,000 physical qubits within eight years, satellite-based secure quantum communications over 2,000 kilometres, and inter-city quantum key distribution networks. These capabilities will have direct applications in the banking sector, particularly in securing digital transactions and communications.
Why Quantum Computing Matters for Banking
The banking sector generates enormous volumes of data and relies on complex computational tasks such as risk analysis, fraud detection, portfolio optimisation and encryption. Classical computers struggle with the scale and complexity of these tasks, especially as cyber threats become more sophisticated.
Quantum computing works fundamentally differently from classical computing. While classical computers process information as bits (0 or 1), quantum computers use qubits that can exist in multiple states simultaneously through a property called superposition. This allows them to process vast numbers of possibilities at once, making them exceptionally powerful for certain types of problems relevant to banking.
The potential economic value of quantum computing in the financial industry is estimated to reach between $400 billion and $600 billion by 2035. Key applications in banking include:
| Application | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Cybersecurity | Develops quantum-resistant encryption to protect against future quantum-enabled hacking threats |
| Fraud Detection | Analyses millions of transactions in real time to identify suspicious patterns that classical systems miss |
| Risk Analysis | Runs complex simulations for credit risk, market risk and portfolio stress testing |
| Portfolio Optimisation | Solves optimisation problems for investment portfolios with thousands of variables |
| Algorithmic Trading | Identifies arbitrage opportunities and optimises trade execution strategies |
The PNB Quantum Finance Hub will work across these areas, with a particular emphasis on strengthening cybersecurity and improving fraud detection mechanisms. The hub is also expected to develop secure digital financial ecosystems that can withstand the security challenges posed by the advent of quantum computing itself, a domain known as post-quantum cryptography.
The Way Forward
The partnership between PNB and the Andhra Pradesh government represents a significant step in integrating quantum technology into mainstream banking. Speaking at the MoU signing, Chief Minister Naidu described Amaravati Quantum Valley as the first of many innovation ecosystems being developed in Amaravati as part of the state’s grand vision to become a global centre for deep technologies. He also urged PNB to launch initiatives for improving digital literacy among the public, stressing that governments and banks must work together to build confidence in digital financial services.
For PNB, the hub offers an opportunity to future-proof its digital infrastructure at a time when cyber threats targeting banks are becoming increasingly sophisticated. The bank’s ability to test and adopt quantum-resistant systems ahead of competitors could become a significant strategic advantage.
The hub’s collaborative model, bringing together startups, academia, industry and government, mirrors the approach taken by the National Quantum Mission’s T-Hubs and creates a template that other public sector banks could follow. If successful, the PNB Quantum Finance Hub could pave the way for similar quantum-finance facilities across the country.
Key Takeaways
- Punjab National Bank (PNB) signed an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government on July 23, 2026, to establish India’s first bank-led Quantum Finance Hub at Amaravati.
- PNB was founded in 1894 as India’s first Swadeshi bank, nationalised in 1969, and is headquartered in Dwarka, New Delhi.
- The Amaravati Quantum Valley (AQV) is a planned quantum technology park in Andhra Pradesh expected to attract $1 billion in investments.
- India’s National Quantum Mission was approved on April 19, 2023, with a budget of ₹6,003.65 crore for the period 2023-24 to 2030-31.
- The hub will focus on cybersecurity, fraud detection, risk analysis and secure digital banking using quantum technologies and artificial intelligence.
- IBM and TCS have partnered with Andhra Pradesh to deploy India’s largest quantum computer, featuring a 156-qubit processor, at the Amaravati Quantum Valley.
