New Delhi : SEMICON India 2026 concluded today at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi, with 15 announcements and collaborations unveiled during its closing session. The initiatives aim to strengthen India’s capabilities in semiconductor design, indigenous computing, fabrication management, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, start-up support, and workforce development, bringing together government bodies, industry, academia, and skilling organisations.
RISC-V Grand Challenge winners announced
Winners of the Digital India RISC-V (DIR-V) Grand Challenge — run by Maker Village under MeitY’s Chips to Startup Programme — were named after drawing 1,236 teams and over 5,000 participants nationwide. Three teams shared ₹60 lakh in prizes: SASTRA University’s team took first place for an autonomous water-cleaning robot built on IIT Madras’s SHAKTI processor; a Thiruvananthapuram team won second for a digital stethoscope running on CDAC’s VEGA processor; and an IISc Bengaluru team placed third with a forest-monitoring system.
New platforms and challenges launched
- The second edition of the Bharat AI-SoC Challenge (2026–27) opened for students and professionals in AI and chip design, backed by the UK Government.
- SCL Mohali launched DMIS, an indigenous manufacturing execution system to streamline wafer-fabrication operations end-to-end.
Partnerships for sovereign computing
C-DAC signed collaborations with both NLC India Limited (to build a data centre for the energy sector) and Bharat Electronics Limited (to jointly develop high-performance computing, AI, and sovereign data-centre solutions).
Indigenous AI and quantum tools
C-DAC unveiled PARAM Vidya, a plug-and-play AI lab-in-a-box for universities and start-ups, and PARAM Shavak-QS, a compact quantum simulation platform for research and education.
Workforce development
Several partnerships were announced to build semiconductor talent: the Electronics Sector Skills Council with both Maitrio Labs and Truechip Solutions; SEMI with Peachtree Elevate; NIELIT’s new ATMP skilling and Digital Twin initiatives; and an MoU between RIASAT and IISc Bengaluru.
Start-ups and industry outlook
The SEMICON India Hackathon drew over 3,800 team registrations, with VIT Vellore and IIT Madras teams winning the grand finale. Under Startup Mitra, 11 start-ups pitched to 20+ investors, with Elphins Technologies taking first place. Separately, EY and ISEA released a report projecting India’s semiconductor market could grow from roughly $64 billion in 2026 to $200 billion by 2035.
These 15 announcements add to 41 others unveiled earlier in the event, reflecting a broad push by government, industry, academia and start-ups to turn India’s semiconductor ambitions into real infrastructure, talent and deployable technology.