Delhi institutions playing key role in India’s semiconductor talent push: Govt
Several leading educational institutions in Delhi are actively contributing to the Government of India’s efforts to build a strong semiconductor ecosystem by training students in chip design and related technologies, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said on Saturday.
The initiative is part of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) and its talent development programme under the Chips to Startups (C2S) scheme, which focuses on training, upskilling and workforce development in semiconductor technologies.
Union Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said India has made significant progress over the past four years towards its 10-year target of training 85,000 engineers in semiconductor design.
He said world-class Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools provided by companies such as Synopsys, Cadence, Siemens, Renesas, Ansys and AMD have been made available in 315 academic institutions across the country.
Using these tools, students are gaining practical experience in designing semiconductor chips. The chips designed by students are fabricated and tested at the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali, providing hands-on exposure across the entire process from design to fabrication, packaging and testing.
According to the ministry, the programme has evolved into the world’s largest open-access EDA initiative, recording more than 1.85 crore hours of tool usage for chip design training so far.
Vaishnaw said students from universities across the country — from Assam to Gujarat and from Kashmir to Kanyakumari — are actively participating in semiconductor design programmes.
Under the Semicon 2.0 programme, the initiative will be expanded from 315 to 500 universities to further strengthen the country’s semiconductor talent base.
The minister also noted that as the global semiconductor industry grows towards a projected size of $2 trillion, nearly two million skilled professionals will be required, creating significant job opportunities for India’s youth.
Several institutions in the National Capital Region are playing an important role in supporting the mission by providing training in semiconductor design, testing and validation.
These include the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, National Institute of Technology Delhi, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi, Delhi Technological University, Netaji Subhas University of Technology, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies and DV2JS Innovation LLP.
Officials said that with advanced EDA tools and training infrastructure, students at these institutions are designing real semiconductor chips, helping build a strong talent pool for India’s semiconductor ecosystem.
The government, through the Semicon 2.0 programme, aims to promote semiconductor design, manufacturing and innovation across the country and position India as a global hub for semiconductor talent and manufacturing.
