The Indian government has approved 23 semiconductor design projects under its Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme, as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s chip design ecosystem and reduce reliance on imports. The sanctioned projects, led by domestic startups and small enterprises, will focus on developing indigenous chips and system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for applications such as surveillance, smart energy, networking, and microprocessor IPs, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said on Friday.
The ministry said 72 companies have so far received access to industry-standard electronic design automation (EDA) tools to support their projects. The DLI scheme is part of India’s broader $10 billion semiconductor mission aimed at building local capability in chip design and manufacturing.
Among the sanctioned projects, Bengaluru-based fabless chipmaker Vervesemi Microelectronics announced its roadmap of integrated circuits (ICs) targeted for volume production between late 2026 and early 2027. Founded in 2017, the company is among the first Indian firms to export semiconductor intellectual property globally and has over 110 IPs, 25 IC product lines, and 10 patents to its name.
Vervesemi’s pipeline includes an application-specific IC for brushless DC (BLDC) motor controllers developed under the government’s Chips to Startup (C2S) program, aimed at appliances such as fans. It is also working on motor-control silicon for electric vehicles, drones, and industrial automation under the DLI scheme, with sampling expected in 2026.
Other projects include ICs for aerospace-grade data acquisition systems, next-generation weighing sensors, and ultra-accurate smart energy meters compliant with global Class 0.2S precision standards. Several of these products are slated for sampling in late 2025.
The company said its ICs integrate embedded machine learning to enable predictive diagnostics, fault tolerance, and adaptive calibration. “By building high-performance, Made-in-India ICs for strategic and consumer markets, we are not only driving import substitution but also showcasing India’s capability to lead on the global semiconductor stage,” said Rakesh Malik, founder and CEO of Vervesemi.
MeitY officials said the push under the DLI scheme is part of India’s ambition to position itself as a global hub for semiconductor design. “We envision a future where every device in the world has a designed-in-India chip,” said Sunita Verma, Group Coordinator for R&D at MeitY.
The government is betting on a mix of incentives for design startups, access to global EDA tools, and programs like C2S to create a pipeline of indigenous chips for both domestic and export markets. Analysts said that while India still lacks large-scale chip fabrication facilities, design-led initiatives are critical to establishing the country’s presence in the global semiconductor value chain.
