India is inching closer to a major milestone in its semiconductor journey, with the country expected to produce its first commercial-scale, made-in-India semiconductor chip this year. Union electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw made the announcement on Saturday while addressing the 14th convocation ceremony of IIT-Hyderabad.According to Vaishnaw, students from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have designed 20 chipsets so far. Of these, eight have already been “taped out”, a term used for the final design stage before fabrication and sent to global foundries and the government-run Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali for production. The SCL, established in 1976, remains operational, though it currently functions on legacy technology nodes.The minister said that India is expected to produce its first commercial-scale, made-in-India semiconductor chip this year, underlining the government’s push to build a full-stack semiconductor ecosystem, from design and fabrication to equipment and materials. “The way we are going into the building of capital equipment and materials needed to build semiconductors, India will become one of the top-5 semiconductor nations in the coming years”, he added.As per ET, the students were supported by the government’s India Semiconductor Mission, which has provided the latest electronic design automation (EDA) tools to 270 colleges and 70 startups across the country. At IIT-Hyderabad alone, more than 700 students have used these tools for over 300,000 hours in the past six months.Currently, India has six semiconductor fabrication plants (fabs) either approved or under development. These new-generation fabs are expected to significantly boost the country’s capability, while the existing SCL in Mohali continues to play a vital role in legacy tech development.The minister also highlighted progress in the artificial intelligence domain. He said that AIKosh, the government’s open-source AI platform, now has 880 datasets and over 200 AI models. These resources are accessible to students, researchers, and startups to aid innovation.Vaishnaw pointed out that India’s growth in electronics manufacturing has translated into strong economic results. “India’s electronics exports have crossed $40 billion,” he said, noting this marks an eight-fold rise in 11 years. He further said, “In just 11 years, we have increased our electronics production six times. That’s a CAGR in double digits, which any corporate would be envious of.”
