India is ready to roll out its first homegrown semiconductor chip in 2025, Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, confirmed during the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) Annual Business Summit. The development was made under a dedicated initiative launched in 2022. The chip will fall within the 28 to 90 nanometre (nm) range.
The minister stated, “Today, six fabrication units are under construction. The rollout of the first Made in India chip is expected this year”. This undertaking targets a specific segment that represents 60% of the global semiconductor market, encompassing applications in automotive electronics, telecommunications, industrial power systems, and railway technologies. On the technological front, the minister highlighted the rapid transformation being driven by Artificial Intelligence. He further noted that “AI is reshaping industries and societies alike. We must prepare ourselves for this change, regardless of our sector or profession”. He referred to the creation of Sarvam, an AI model trained on Indian languages and cultural context.
In his capacity as Minister of Railways, he announced that India is now the second-largest freight railway network in the world, transporting 1,612 million tonnes of cargo, superseding both the United States and Russia. There’s a significant increase in the passenger capacity as well. He underlined India’s success in pilot programs that involve startups in the railway sector. The announcement marks a pivotal moment in India’s ambition to establish a rigid presence in the global semiconductor ecosystem and become technologically independent.
