Indian Startups Accelerate 'Aatmanirbhar Chips' Roadmap Under DLI Scheme

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Sep 4 (IANS) Backed by the government's Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme, domestic chip design and IPR are accelerating across critical sectors, from surveillance and energy metering to networking and motor control, the Ministry of Electronics and IT said on Thursday.

According to the ministry, to date, 23 chip design projects have been sanctioned under the DLI Scheme, with 72 companies gaining access to industry-grade Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools.

Many of these startups showcased their roadmaps at Semicon India 2025, reflecting India's growing capability and self-reliance in semiconductor chip design.

InCore Semiconductors, founded by the creators of the SHAKTI Processors - the first open-source RISC-V processor in India - has launched an innovative System-on-Chip (SoC) Generator Platform that reduces frontend chip design time from months to just a few minutes.

This automation accelerates development timelines, lowers costs, and minimises design risks, enabling faster innovation cycles for their customers.

A test chip taped out on TSMC's 40nm process node showcases six heterogeneous RISC-V cores from InCore's IP portfolio, a custom Network-on-Chip (NoC) with automatic protocol bridging, multiple automatically integrated peripherals, and a fully deployed software stack including a Real Time Operating System (RTOS), underscoring the platform's robustness, the ministry added.

Aheesa Digital Innovations will make available its SoC along with reference platforms to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) in the first quarter of 2026, enabling them to develop custom networking and broadband solutions using a 100 per cent indigenously designed, Made-in-India SoC.

Four Indian companies, 3rdiTech, Netrasemi, BigEndian Semiconductors, and Mindgrove Technologies, are designing indigenous SoC solutions for critical applications such as surveillance and CCTV cameras, the Ministry added.

On Day 2 of Semicon India 2025, held at Yashobhoomi in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the exhibition stalls.

He was accompanied by Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada.

During his visit, the Prime Minister underscored the pivotal role of startups in propelling India's semiconductor ambitions and the importance of Indian Intellectual Property(IP) creation.

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