India, UK Quantum Computing Tie-Up in Focus before the British PMs Mumbai visit

An research connection between Imperial College London and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay to use Quantum Computing and Biotechnology to help farmers to renovate stronger crops that are more resilient to climate change, arose as a focus area for the expected visit of the next week of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The project builds on Quantum as an important pillar of the India-UK Technology Security Initiative (TSI), with a mission to cultivate healthier soil microbes and to unlock new strategies for protecting crops in dry and climate-disordering regions. The India-UK TSI, which was signed last year, is planned to be at the top of the agenda when Starmer joins the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2025 with the Global Fintech Fest (GFF).

Imperial College London President, Professor Hugh Brady, will be one of the members of the Premier Delegation on his way to Mumbai during Starmer’s first visit to India as British Prime Minister. While further partnerships between British University and Indian counterparts are expected, a team is led by Imperial’s Dr. Po-Heng (Henry) Lee and Iit Bombay’s Dr. Indrajit Chakraborty already use Kwantum Computing to model the complex interactions between plants and bacteria in the soil.

“This collaboration brings the expertise of IIT Bombay in microbial ecology and genomics together with the strengths of Imperial in Bioinformatics and Quantum Computing Simulation,” Dr. Lee. “This project paves the way for quantum technologies to take on urgent challenges in global food security and climate feet,” he said.

With a better understanding of how plants and helpful bacteria ‘talk’ with each other, the researchers hope that they can stimulate natural processes to grow crops better and more resilient against drought and extreme weather. The interactions between plants and bacteria are too complicated for traditional computer methods, but by simulating gene regulation and microbial signaling, the researchers hope to develop new approaches to improve the health of the soil and the productivity of crops, especially in dry soils.

“By combining our expertise in microbial ecology, we open new boundaries in sustainable agriculture. This partnership not only deepens our understanding of plant microbe interactions, but also shows how international cooperation can provide innovative solutions for climate challenges with which communities are confronted worldwide,” Dr. Chakraborty.

The project focuses on a special plant chemistry called Strigolacton. This works as a messenger, to help plants and bacteria to share information and to work together. The scientists also look at how adding bioachar, a kind of charcoal, can make these partnerships even stronger at soil. Experimental work at IIT Bombay will investigate how synthetic strigolactons influence the growth of plants and microbial behavior, while the team of Imperial develops quantum circuit models to simulate microbial communication.

The partnership strengthens the bilateral research tires and utilizes the technology and knowledge of both countries at the intersection of Kwantum Computing and Biotechnology. The project is funded by the India Connect Fund, an important initiative of the new science shub of the University in Bengaluru – Imperial Global India. Every year the fund supports a maximum of 25 joint research projects between Imperial and Partners in India in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum science, biotech and clean energy.

Imperial College London, the world’s second ranking, recently founded his Bengaluru Hub to further strengthen such scientific and innovation partnerships between the two countries. It has requested Imperial Global India to be founded as a connecting office, awaiting relevant approvals of the regulations.

Published on October 4, 2025