Mohali lab fabricated 20 semiconductor chip designs: Minister in Lok Sabha

A total of 20 chip designs from 17 academic institutions, including IITs, have been successfully fabricated by the Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali, a first-of-its-kind achievement under the government’s Design-Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme, said Union Electronics and IT Minister Jitin Prasada.

The DLI Scheme, launched in December 2021 with a Rs 1,000-crore budget under the broader Rs 76-000 crore Semicon India Programme, is aimed at nurturing domestic startups, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and academic institutions in semiconductor design, a segment traditionally hindered by steep entry barriers, prohibitive costs and long gestation periods.

“The DLI Scheme is beginning to deliver on its promise. With 23 companies already sanctioned for chip-design support, we are now seeing real, market-ready outcomes,” said the minister in the Lok Sabha, highlighting the growing momentum of India’s design-led semiconductor aspirations.

So far, 72 startups and 278 academic institutions have gained access to state-of-the-art Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools and IP cores, essential for developing cutting-edge semiconductor designs.

Among the 23 chip-design projects sanctioned, several target critical applications, including surveillance systems, energy metering, networking technologies and microprocessor IP development. Six companies have already completed their prototype tape-outs at various semiconductor foundries, and 10 have secured venture capital to scale up production, a signal of growing investor confidence in India’s domestic design ecosystem.

Under the DLI Scheme, eligible companies can receive up to 50% of design and prototyping costs (capped at Rs 15 crore per application), along with incentives linked to sales revenue during commercialisation. The total sanctioned outlay for ongoing projects, including the cost of EDA tools, now stands at Rs 803.08 crore.

With academic institutions now successfully fabricating chip designs through the SCL, the DLI Scheme has brought Indian universities and technical institutes into the mainstream of global semiconductor development. These institutions, once confined to theoretical chip design, are now producing hardware that could power next-generation devices, according to officials.