SEMICON India 2025: Why is the memento presented to PM Modi by Ashwini Vaishnaw unique?

New Delhi’s Yashobhoomi hosted the inauguration of the fourth edition of the SEMICON India programme 2025 on Tuesday. During the event, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw presented Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a one-of-a-kind memento that symbolised India’s semiconductor journey. Here is why:

The rectangular glass case housed a total of 33 different chips that have been developed in India since the launch of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) in 2021.

One of the chips in the souvenir was the VIKRAM3201, a 32-bit microprocessor developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL), Chandigarh, set up under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). Announced in March of this year, this is the first fully “Make-in-India” processor qualified for the extreme conditions of space launch vehicles. A lot of these chips were fabricated at SCL’s 180nm Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) fab. The chip builds on the earlier indigenously designed 16-bit VIKRAM1601, which has been used in ISRO launch vehicles since 2009. An indigenously made VIKRAM1601 was introduced in 2016 after the SCL fab became operational.

The memento also featured test chips from four approved semiconductor projects, including Kaynes Technologies, Micron Technologies, Tata Electronics, and CG-Semi. CG-Semi, Kaynes, and Micron have established their semiconductor facilities in Sanand, Gujarat. Meanwhile, Tata Electronics has set up its semiconductor fab in Dholera, Gujarat.

Additionally, the case also showcased a set of 28 chips on the side of the above five chips, developed under the Chips to Startup (C2S) program. The program was launched in 2022, and the fabrication of these chips was carried out at the same SCL. Students from institutions including Calcutta University, Osmania University in Hyderabad, NIT Jalandhar, IIT Roorkee, IIT Ropar, IIT Jammu, and IIT Dhanbad designed these chips.

This unique keepsake for PM Modi is reflective of India’s advances in chip design, fabrication and ecosystem-building and highlights the country’s growing ambitions in the semiconductor industry.

During his address, Vaishnaw revealed that two additional semiconductor units, already approved, will begin pilot production in the coming months, adding to the CG-Semi unit that recently produced India’s first locally made chip.

He stressed that India’s stability amid global uncertainty has drawn investor confidence. Mobile phone manufacturing in the country has grown 28 times in the past decade, with exports of electronic goods up eightfold, driving a rise in semiconductor demand.