Migration Guide · India Timeline
PQC Migration Roadmap for India (2026–2033)
India's post-quantum migration is a multi-year phased program — not a single cutover date. Regulated entities should treat 2026 as the planning year, 2027 as staging and pilot year, and 2028–2033 as progressive production adoption aligned with RBI Q-SAFE, NPCI pilots, and NIST FIPS 203 standards.
What is India's PQC adoption timeline?
India's national post-quantum strategy targets phased adoption from 2028 through 2033, with regulated financial infrastructure moving earlier. NPCI is piloting ML-KEM-768 TLS with production targets from late 2027. The 2026–2027 window is for CBOM inventory, vendor evaluation, and hybrid staging — not mass production replacement.
| Phase | Period | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | 2026 | CBOM, risk matrix, regulatory alignment, executive buy-in |
| Pilot | 2026–2027 | Hybrid ML-KEM-768 staging, sandbox validation, vendor RFPs |
| Payment rails | Late 2027+ | NPCI-aligned TLS production targets for critical paths |
| Scale | 2028–2030 | Wave-based production migration by system priority |
| Complete | 2030–2033 | Legacy algorithm sunset, HSM upgrades, archival re-encryption |
Why use hybrid cryptography instead of rip-and-replace?
Hybrid PQC runs a classical key exchange (X25519, ECDH) alongside a post-quantum KEM (ML-KEM-768) in the same handshake. Security holds if either algorithm remains strong. This reduces operational risk while HSM vendors, payment switches, and third-party APIs complete their PQC roadmaps.
Hybrid is the recommended pattern in NIST migration guidance and most enterprise TLS implementations in 2026.
What is harvest-now-decrypt-later (HNDL) and who is at risk?
HNDL means adversaries capture encrypted traffic or data today and store it until quantum computers can break RSA/ECDH. Organizations with 10+ year data retention — banks, insurers, custody platforms, telecom lawful intercept archives — face HNDL risk now, even before quantum computers reach operational scale.
Which NIST algorithms should India align to?
NIST finalized three core families in 2024: ML-KEM (FIPS 203) for key encapsulation, ML-DSA (FIPS 204) for general-purpose signatures, and SLH-DSA (FIPS 205) for hash-based signatures. For Indian payment TLS and API encryption, ML-KEM-768 is the default enterprise parameter set.
What does a 90-day starter plan look like?
A practical 90-day plan has four sequenced workstreams: deepen CBOM coverage, validate one use case in a sandbox, draft HSM/vendor requirements, and brief risk committee with a 2028 production wave proposal. Each workstream has a named owner and measurable exit criteria.
| Days | Workstream | Deliverable |
|---|---|---|
| 1–30 | CBOM depth | Complete exposure map for top 10 critical systems |
| 15–45 | Dependency scan | Codebase / lockfile crypto findings report |
| 30–60 | Sandbox pilot | ML-KEM-768 encrypt/sign proof in staging |
| 45–75 | Vendor eval | HSM/KMS PQC roadmap scorecard |
| 60–90 | Governance | Risk committee readout + 2028 wave plan |
What are common migration mistakes to avoid?
The three most costly mistakes: (1) waiting for a "final" quantum computer before starting inventory, (2) betting on non-NIST algorithms without regulatory alignment, and (3) planning production cutover without a hybrid staging phase. Planning and pilots are low-risk; delayed inventory is not.
- Mistake: Treating PQC as a 30-day project → Fix: Fixed-scope assessment first
- Mistake: Ignoring third-party API crypto → Fix: Vendor questionnaire in CBOM
- Mistake: No executive sponsor → Fix: Risk committee briefing by day 90
Frequently asked questions
Can we skip straight to ML-KEM-1024?
ML-KEM-1024 offers higher assurance (category 5) but larger keys and latency. Most TLS and API use cases standardize on ML-KEM-768 unless threat models require maximum margins.
Do mobile apps need separate PQC planning?
Yes. Mobile apps use certificate pinning, TLS stacks, and local secure storage — each needs CBOM entries and SDK upgrade paths for PQC-enabled libraries.
How long does a staging pilot take?
A focused API or TLS hybrid pilot typically runs 4–6 weeks after CBOM inventory, assuming sandbox access and a named engineering owner.