India Trains 67,000 Chip Designers as Enrolments Cross One Lakh
Close up shot of a worker wearing gloves carefully testing electronic components and circuits using specialized diagnostic equipment
India has made steady progress in building a strong talent base for semiconductor design, with over one lakh people enrolling in government-supported chip design training programmes and around 67,000 already completing their training. The initiative is being led by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and focuses on strengthening India’s capabilities in chip design, a field that is critical for electronics, defence systems, green energy, and next-generation technologies.
At the heart of this effort is the Chips to Start-up (C2S) Programme, launched in 2022 with a budget of Rs 250 crore. The programme connects nearly 400 organisations across the country, including more than 300 academic institutions and close to 100 startups. Its objective is to create industry-ready engineers and researchers by offering structured training and hands-on exposure to real-world chip design challenges.
The programme has already delivered early results. Students and institutions involved have filed more than 75 patents and are working on over 500 intellectual property cores, application-specific integrated circuits, and system-on-chip designs for sectors such as telecom, automotive, defence, and consumer electronics. The C2S initiative also supports startup incubation, research publications, and technology transfer, while training students at B.Tech, M.Tech, and PhD levels in VLSI and embedded systems.
By linking academia, startups, and industry, the programme is helping India reduce its dependence on imported chips and build long-term competitiveness in the global semiconductor ecosystem.
Source: Zee News
