A big boost to India’s chip dreams as the Centre rolls out the ₹760 billion DLI scheme under MeitY to supercharge homegrown chip design.
The Centre has sanctioned 24 chip design projects under the Design Linked Incentive scheme, marking a push to strengthen India’s domestic semiconductor ecosystem, according to an official statement. The approved projects span critical areas including video surveillance, drone detection, energy meters, microprocessors, satellite communications, broadband and Internet of Things systems on chip.
Alongside project approvals, 95 companies have been granted access to industry grade Electronic Design Automation tools, a move expected to sharply cut design and infrastructure costs for Indian chip design start ups. Semiconductor chip design is the main value driver in the global supply chain, accounting for up to 50% of value addition and nearly one third of worldwide semiconductor sales through the fabless segment.
Projects supported under the scheme are scaling rapidly, with 16 tape outs completed so far, six ASIC chips developed, 10 patents filed and more than 1,000 engineers engaged. The programme has also helped leverage over three times the amount of private investment, the statement said.
The Design Linked Incentive scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology with an outlay of ₹760 billion as part of the Semicon India Programme. It provides end to end support covering design, fabrication and productisation, with C-DAC acting as the nodal implementation agency.
The scheme is now driving a transition from design validation to productisation, enabling start ups and MSMEs to move towards volume manufacturing and market deployment. Officials said this coordinated policy and institutional framework is positioning India as a credible global player in chip design while reducing dependence on imported core technologies and strengthening long term technological self reliance.
