New Delhi : Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the Government of India is giving top priority to talent development through training, up-skilling and workforce development programmes under the Chips to Startups (C2S) initiative of the India Semiconductor Mission. He stated that India has already made remarkable progress in the past four years toward its 10-year goal of training 85,000 engineers in semiconductor design.
The Minister informed that world-class Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools supported by leading global technology companies such as Synopsys, Cadence Design Systems, Siemens, Renesas Electronics, Ansys and Advanced Micro Devices have been made available in 315 academic institutions across the country. Through these advanced tools, students are gaining practical experience in semiconductor chip design.
He further explained that the designed chips are being fabricated and tested at the Semiconductor Laboratory in Mohali, enabling students to gain hands-on experience in the entire semiconductor value chain — from design and fabrication to packaging and testing.
This initiative has now become the world’s largest open-access EDA programme, with more than 1.85 crore hours of EDA tool usage recorded for chip design training so far, and the number continues to grow steadily.
Highlighting the nationwide participation, Vaishnaw said that students from institutions across the country — from Assam to Gujarat and from Kashmir to Kanyakumari — are actively engaging in semiconductor design activities. He described this development as a major step toward strengthening India’s technological capability and self-reliance in the semiconductor sector.
Speaking about global industry trends, the Minister noted that the semiconductor industry is expected to grow from the current USD 800–900 billion to nearly USD 2 trillion in the coming years. As a result, there will be a demand for around 2 million skilled professionals, creating significant employment opportunities for India’s youth.
He also announced that under India Semiconductor Mission 2.0, the programme will be expanded from 315 to 500 academic institutions. This expansion aims to create a strong and continuous pipeline of trained professionals in semiconductor design, fabrication, packaging and testing across all states of the country.
Reiterating the government’s vision, Vaishnaw said that the Government of India remains committed to building a robust and self-reliant semiconductor ecosystem. Through talent development, infrastructure creation and strong industry collaboration under the India Semiconductor Mission, the country aims to emerge as a global semiconductor hub in the coming years.