India’s Department of Space, through ISRO, plans to launch the first quantum communication satellite, SAQTI—Secured Applications using Quantum and optical Technologies—around 2026 as part of the National Quantum Mission approved in April 2023 with a ₹6,003.65 crore budget until 2030-31. This initiative targets satellite-based quantum key distribution over 2000 km to provide unhackable links for national security, protecting military and government communications from quantum computing threats. Building on ground trials like DRDO-IIT Delhi’s 1 km free-space demonstration in 2025 at 240 bits/s, earlier 100 km fibre QKD in 2022, and collaborations with Raman Research Institute funded over ₹15 crore since 2017, SAQTI extends these to orbit using PSLV from Satish Dhawan Space Centre. Complementary private efforts by Space TS and Synergy Quantum focus on post-quantum cryptography satellites by early 2030, enhancing hybrid networks amid global races like China’s Micius since 2016.​