Design Linked Incentive Scheme
Why in news?
The Centre has sanctioned 24 chip design projects under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme, focusing on areas like video surveillance, drone detection, energy meters, microprocessors, satellite communications, and IoT SoCs. This initiative, led by startups and MSMEs, is part of the Semicon India Programme to build a self-reliant semiconductor ecosystem.
Key Highlights
- Scheme: Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme under the Semicon India Programme.
- Projects Approved: 24 chip design projects.
- Focus Areas:
- Video surveillance
- Drone detection
- Energy meters
- Microprocessors
- Satellite communications
- Broadband and IoT Systems-on-Chip (SoCs)
- Support Provided:
- Access to industry-grade Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools for 95 companies.
- End-to-end support from design to fabrication.
- Scale:
- 16 tape-outs, 6 ASIC chips already developed.
- Over 1,000 engineers engaged.
- Investment: Part of the ₹76,000 crore semiconductor mission.
- Human Resource Goal: Generate 85,000 skilled professionals in semiconductor design.
Challenges & Risks
- Fabrication bottleneck: India still lacks large-scale fabs; design success must be matched with manufacturing capacity.
- Global competition: Taiwan, South Korea, and the US dominate chip design and fabrication.
- Supply chain vulnerabilities: Dependence on rare earths and global logistics.
- Skilling gap: Need rapid training to meet the target of 85,000 professionals.
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