26 July 2025: PIB Summary For UPSC

1. India’s Semiconductor Vision Gathers Momentum with 3nm Chip Design and Large‑Scale Talent Development Initiatives

Source – Press Information Bureau (PIB) – Ministry of Jal Shakti (26 July 2025)

Content: 

Overview

• India is home to nearly 20% of global chip‑design engineers. A 3 nm semiconductor chip designed in India was recently unveiled, demonstrating technical prowess and global competitiveness.

• The Government is promoting in‑country chip design, R&D, manufacturing, and talent development, positioning India as a trusted global semiconductor partner.

Key Initiatives & Measures

1. Talent Development & Curriculum Reform

• AICTE‑approved curriculum on VLSI Design & Technology and IC manufacturing introduced.

• Target: Develop 85,000 skilled professionals in semiconductor design, with 45,000+ students enrolled across more than 100 institutions.

• SMART Labs at NIELIT Calicut: training centre aiming to educate up to 1 lakh engineers nationwide; 44,000+ trained already.

• Collaborations with global academic and industry partners such as Lam Research, IBM, Purdue University to strengthen design capabilities.

2. Semicon India Programme

• Approved ₹76,000 crore package to build semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem.

• 6 manufacturing projects and 22 design‑linked incentive (DLI) schemes approved under the programme.

• Infrastructure support: Provision of EDA tools, FPGA boards from Synopsys, Cadence, Siemens, etc., and access to Post‑Silicon validation, testing and packaging resources.

Analysis & Significance

• Leverage domestic talent: With India accounting for a significant share of the design workforce, these measures convert human capital into strategic strength.

• Moving up value chain: Shifting from software to hardware (chip‑design & fabrication) enhances technological autonomy and reduces dependency.

• Employment generation: A large skilled workforce, allied with manufacturing build‑out, will spur high‑value job creation.

• Global positioning: End‑to‑end capacity (design–manufacture–packaging) makes India a credible global partner in semiconductor supply chains.

• Strategic imperatives: Semiconductor capability aligns with national security, digital infrastructure, Make in India, and critical technologies (e.g. AI, 5G).

Conclusion 

• Continued scaling of institutions and enrolment to meet the 85,000+ design talent target.

• Fast‑track approvals, land, capital and infrastructure support under Semicon India Programme; ensure timely commissioning of projects.

• Strengthen industry–academia collaboration, including more MOUs, joint research projects, incubation cells.

• Encourage startups and MSMEs in EDA tool development, chip prototyping, packaging services.

• Focus on integrated chip manufacturing, packaging and testing facilities within India to enhance value retention and sovereign capability.

Check this out 25 July 2025: PIB Summary For UPSC