We know the Chips to Startup (C2S) program aims to train 85,000 people over five years.
In its recent development, the Indian government is equipping over 100 colleges with electronic design automation (EDA) tools from leading companies like Siemens EDA, Synopsys, and Cadence. The government had invited applications under the C2S programme of 100 academic institutions, R&D organisations, startups, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), last August.
Siemens EDA is collaborating with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MietY) to create an EDA tools grid as part of a design-linked incentive scheme for chip startups. Synopsys has partnered with institutions like IIT Bombay and the Indian Institute of Science to develop talent for the chip industry through its Synopsys Academic & Research Alliances (SARA) program. Around 350 engineering colleges in India have access to Cadence’s suite of EDA technologies.
These companies are providing the tools to the colleges at subsidised prices. These prices are a small fraction of the commercial prices. With the growing chip demand, there will be a global shortage of talented manpower in the field by 2030. Training students with these tools would ensure they are industry-ready upon graduation.
Industry standard chips are complex to design and nearly all the chips require these design tools. This is an opportunity for students to gain confidence and skills through the use of these tools. This could potentially lead to them launching startups post-graduation.
Ruchir Dixit, Country Manager of Siemens EDA, mentioned that the government’s Chips to Startups (C2S) initiative has provided EDA tools to academic institutions to train students in very large-scale integration and embedded system design. The C2S program, which started in January 2022, aims to train 85,000 people over five years.
The collaboration between the government and these companies will enable students to gain industry-relevant skills in semiconductor chip design. This initiative is part of a broader effort to develop a robust semiconductor ecosystem in India, including the proposal to set up more semiconductor fabrication units in the country.
