India Trains 68,000 Students in Chip Design, Boosts Semiconductor Ecosystem

India's Chips to Start-ups Programme has trained over 68,000 students in semiconductor chip design, resulting in 254 successful chip tape-outs. The initiative aims to develop industry-ready talent and bolster India's chip design capabilities, with various research projects underway across the country.

In a significant boost to India's semiconductor capabilities, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology announced that the Chips to Start-ups (C2S) Programme has successfully trained more than 68,000 students in chip design. This initiative, a key part of expanding the nation’s domestic semiconductor ecosystem, has also seen 254 chip designs reach the tape-out stage.

The programme's objective is clear: to generate 85,000 industry-ready professionals across B.Tech, M.Tech, and PhD levels, specializing in semiconductor chip design. It addresses the crucial gap in workforce talent and chip design infrastructure within India. Institutions participating in the program have achieved substantial milestones, with 175 designs at the 180 nm technology node taped out at SCL, Mohali, and 79 designs at international foundries.

To further support these efforts, the government has equipped 332 academic institutions with advanced Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools from major companies such as Synopsys and Cadence. Research is thriving with projects like a secure RISC-V processor at IIT Tirupati and an energy-efficient neuromorphic processor at NIT Andhra Pradesh. Varying in design stages, these projects are steadily advancing towards prototype validation.