The Union ministry of electronics and information technology (Meity) on Friday said that the government has sanctioned 23 chip-design projects under the design-linked incentive (DLI) scheme as part of the efforts to boost semiconductor design capabilities within the country.
“These projects, led by domestic start-ups and MSMEs, are receiving support to develop indigenous chips and system-on-chip solutions for areas such as surveillance cameras, energy meters, microprocessor IPs, and networking applications,” the ministry said in a statement.
Around 72 companies have gained access to the industry-standard Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools for their chip design projects, the ministry said. The DLI scheme is part of India’s ₹76,000 crore Semiconductor Mission. The scheme promotes semiconductor design start-ups and MSMEs by offering financial support across product development stages.
Among the first cohort of companies approved under the scheme is Noida-based Vervesemi Microelectronics, which on Friday announced its upcoming portfolio of advanced integrated circuits (ICs) with applications across space, defence, industrial, and smart energy. The company targets production by late 2026 and early 2027.
“By building high-performance, Made-in-India ICs for strategic and consumer markets, we are not only driving import substitution but also showcasing India’s capability to lead on the global semiconductor stage,” said Pratap Narayan Singh, founder and CTO, Vervesemi Microelectronics.
Big goals
The push for in-house designing of chips comes at a time when the government has set an ambitious goal for the indigenous semiconductor market to reach $110 billion by 2030.
Last week, the Union cabinet had approved four semiconductor projects in Odisha, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh with a cumulative investment of ₹4,600 crore. With six more projects under various stages of development, the Indian Semiconductor Mission has garnered a cumulative investment of ₹1.6 lakh crore with projects in six states.
“What began as an ambition to achieve semiconductor self-reliance has now transformed into decisive action, exemplified by the Union cabinet’s recent approval of four new semiconductor fabs and 23 indigenous chip-design projects.
“These initiatives strengthen sovereign capability, create thousands of high-value jobs, and secure India’s place at the centre of resilient global supply chains. With over 85,000 skilled professionals contributing to 20 per cent of global chip design talent, we are rapidly building deep-tech manufacturing excellence at scale,” Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, CEO, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, said.