Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Information and Technology, has approved the establishment of the NaMo Semiconductor Lab at IIT Bhubaneswar (IITBBS) to strengthen India’s semiconductor ecosystem.
An official statement from the Union Ministry, issued on Sunday, states that the project is funded at ₹4.95 Crore under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme.
The lab is designed as a national hub for semiconductor research and skilling, aiming to equip India with industry-ready skills in chip design, fabrication, packaging, and positioning at IITBBS. It will also feature advanced equipment worth ₹4.6 crore and software valued at ₹35 lakh.
The mission aligns well with the government’s flagship initiatives, “Make in India” and “Mission in India”, catalysing the rapidly evolving semiconductor ecosystem in India. With cutting-edge electronic design automation (EDA) tools, India already boasts 20% of the global chip design talent with 295 university students. As earlier announced, PM Modi launched the first 32-bit semiconductor chip, Vikram, to reduce the country’s dependence on imported chips.
According to the statement, the plan to develop a semiconductor lab at IITBBS is a strategic move. Recently, Odisha secured two major semiconductor projects under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM): an integrated silicon carbide (SiC) based compound semiconductor facility and an advanced 3D glass packaging unit.
These large projects are forecasted to generate over 2,000 skilled jobs and reduce India’s dependency on foreign semiconductor imports, thereby strengthening India’s ambition to become a global hub for chip manufacturing.
