New Delhi, August 6: The Semi-Conductor Laboratory in Mohali has successfully manufactured 175 student-designed integrated circuits at its 180 nanometer technology node, marking a major milestone for domestic technological research.
Presenting details in Parliament, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Jitin Prasada affirmed that government-led initiatives have enabled over 68,000 students to undergo specialized training in semiconductor design, resulting in 254 successful tapeouts across domestic and international foundries.
“Targeted promotion efforts under the Chips to Startup programme are delivering hands-on industry exposure and helping bridge academic training with physical chip fabrication,” stated Jitin Prasada, pointing out that Indian startups under parallel schemes have also taped out 25 advanced designs at global facilities like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
The Ministry highlighted that beneficiary startup companies have secured private venture capital backing exceeding four times the disbursed government financial support. Officials maintained that with over 1.25 lakh semiconductor design engineers based in the country, India now accounts for nearly one-fifth of the global chip design workforce and hosts seven percent of worldwide semiconductor capability centers.
