India’s First Homegrown Chip Coming Soon: Ashwini Vaishnaw

The Union Minister of Information and Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said that the country would witness the rollout of its first made-in-India chip "very soon" as six semiconductor plants are under construction in Gujarat, Assam as well as Uttar Pradesh.

What Did Ashwini Vaishnaw Say?

While addressing the 'Next-Gen Mobility for a Next-Gen City' programme at Bengaluru, the IT minister said, "Today there are six semiconductor plants under construction in our country and very soon we'll see the first made in India chip roll out of these factories."

The minister also highlighted the government's decision for the easy accessibility of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, he said, "AI is shaping our world today," adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision is that of democratising technology.

According to him, technology should be accessible to all and it should not be limited to a few. "That's why we have done the India AI mission in which 34,000 GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) are available today as a common compute facility for all our innovators," the minister added.

The price of these GPUs is just less than $1 per hour, Vaishnaw said, adding that "this is the most affordable common computer facility in the entire world."

What Did Prime Minister Narendra Modi Say?

While speaking at the event PM Modi emphasised on India's priority to become "self-reliant" in the technology sector, stating that the country will soon have its "Made in India" chip as the semiconductor mission gains momentum.

He also stressed that the journey of 'Viksit Bharat' will move forward, hand-in-hand with the Digital India initiative.

PM Modi also observed that with the India AI Mission, the country is advancing towards global AI leadership.

According to the Prime Minister, "our next big priority should be becoming self-reliant in technology. The journey to a Viksit Bharat will move forward hand in hand with Digital India. Through initiatives like India AI Mission, India is advancing toward global AI leadership. He added that the Semiconductor Mission is also gaining momentum, and India will soon have its own Made-in-India chip."

The Union Cabinet approved India's sixth semiconductor manufacturing unit in Jewar in western Uttar Pradesh. It will be established near Jewar Airport through a joint venture between the HCL Group and Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn.

This unit is expected to generate employment for around 2,000 people and will help significantly in strengthening India's semiconductor ecosystem. 

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