Why in news?
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s Chips to Start‑Up (C2S) programme has been highlighted for its role in building India’s semiconductor design talent and nurturing start‑ups. Launched in 2022, the initiative aims to make India a global hub for chip design and reduce dependence on imports.
Background
C2S is an umbrella capacity‑building programme under the India Semiconductor Mission with a budget of ₹250 crore over five years. It seeks to train 85,000 B.Tech, M.Tech and PhD students in Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) and chip design, incubate at least 25 semiconductor start‑ups, enable 10 technology transfers and create state‑of‑the‑art laboratory infrastructure. The programme also aims to engage over 1 lakh engineering students in basic chip design and encourage innovation through the filing of at least 50 patents and 2,000 research papers.
Progress so far
- More than 100,000 individuals have enrolled in C2S courses and around 67,000 have already been trained using online and classroom modules.
- Six shared wafer runs have been organised, allowing 46 institutions to submit 122 chip designs. Fifty‑six student‑designed chips have been fabricated through multi‑project wafer (MPW) runs.
- The programme has conducted over 265 training sessions on chip design tools and has provided high‑performance computing access and field‑programmable gate array (FPGA) boards to participating colleges.
- More than 75 patents have been filed by students and faculty members under C2S, and several start‑ups are being incubated around their designs.
Significance
- Democratising chip design: By offering open‑source electronic design automation (EDA) tools and subsidised fabrication runs, C2S allows students from universities across India to design and test integrated circuits.
- Building a talent pipeline: Training thousands of engineers in VLSI design addresses a critical skills gap and prepares a workforce for upcoming semiconductor fabrication facilities.
- Supporting start‑ups: The programme connects design teams with mentors, investors and industry partners, helping them transition from prototypes to commercial products.
- Strategic autonomy: Developing indigenous chip‑design capabilities reduces reliance on imported semiconductors and strengthens national security and economic resilience.
Looking ahead
As India moves towards setting up semiconductor fabrication plants under the broader India Semiconductor Mission, the C2S programme will provide a steady stream of designers and entrepreneurs. Continued funding and collaboration with global foundries and design houses will be essential to sustain momentum.
Sources: Press Information Bureau
