Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, officially launched the 2nd Semicon India Future Design Roadshow at IISc in Bangalore on Friday.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister pointed out that India is rapidly expanding in global electronics value chains, and that the rapid growth of digitalization, combined with India's high-growth digital and innovation economy, has created opportunities in the New World Order of Semiconductor and Electronics.
Chandrasekhar highlighted that three trends are currently visible. “First, there has been an acceleration in digitalization and governments around the world are digitizing rapidly. Secondly, we are at an inflection point, and third, for the world, New India is becoming a trusted partner in terms of delivering talent, global products, digital products and services."
He mentioned that Semicon India Future Design represents an opportunity as such. “The aim is to encourage startups, next-generation innovators, and business leaders to invest in the semiconductor sector in India."
The minister added that the India Semiconductor Research Centre (ISRC) which will be a private, industry led research center will soon be launched. “The Semiconductor Laboratory is being modernized and pivoted into a research fab and will be co-located with the ISRC."
According to Chandrasekhar, the government intends to implement an educational framework as part of the Future Skills initiative. “It has been developed in collaboration with industry experts and academics. A large number of colleges will have new degrees, new electives, and new certification programs in VLSI. We are actively working with fab companies to create on the job training type of internships for students in the semiconductor space."
He revealed the inauguration of the ChipIN Centre at C-DAC India in Bangalore, which will serve as a one-stop shop for Fabless Chip Designers in the nation, providing Semiconductor Design Tools, Fab access, Virtual Prototyping, and HW Lab access.
The minister added that the India AI Datasets program is going to be launched soon. “It will be the world’s largest datasets program which will in turn catalyze the Intelligent compute, AI compute, device and the system design ecosystem."
Speaking about the potential for collaboration between Indian startups and global semiconductor majors, Chandrasekhar stated that global semiconductor majors can improve their ability to develop beyond the normal invention range by leveraging the power of Semicon India Future Design Startups.
He also spoke about India's plans for the DIR-V (Digital India RISC-V Microprocessor Program), which will assist in the development of design wins for the upcoming SHAKTI and VEGA RISC-V Processors, as well as commercial grade Indian Processors this year. “We are building a comprehensive architecture around RISC-V and aim to make India a RISC-V Talent hub for the world."
*Image Source: Internet