New Delhi: In a significant boost to India’s semiconductor design ecosystem, the government has sanctioned 23 chip design projects under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme, a flagship initiative of the ₹76,000 crore Semicon India Programme.
These projects span a range of applications – from surveillance systems to energy metering and microprocessors – signaling India’s deepening self-reliance in semiconductor technology.
Launched in December 2021, the DLI Scheme is aimed at nurturing domestic companies, startups, and MSMEs engaged in chip design, by offering both financial incentives and access to design infrastructure.
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As semiconductor product development is capital-intensive and time-consuming, the DLI scheme provides critical support for early-stage innovation.
Bengaluru and Academic Ecosystem at the Core
India’s technology capital Bengaluru, along with top academic institutions across the country, is playing a central role in this innovation surge. So far, 278 academic institutions and 72 startups have received access to advanced Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools and Intellectual Property (IP) cores under the DLI scheme.
In a landmark achievement, 20 chip designs from 17 academic institutions have been successfully fabricated by SCL (Semiconductor Laboratory), Mohali – marking a pivotal step in India’s R&D-to-commercialization journey.
Semicon India Programme: Financial Incentives Fueling Innovation
The DLI scheme includes:
- Up to 50% financial support for design prototyping, capped at ₹15 crore per application.
- Incentives of 6% to 4% on net sales turnover over five years, capped at ₹30 crore per project, to support commercialization.
A total project outlay of ₹803.08 crore, including EDA tool access, has been approved under the scheme, with disbursal linked to milestone-based achievements.
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Notably, 10 of the DLI-supported startups have already raised venture capital funding, and six startups have completed prototype tape-outs at leading foundries, bringing them closer to market-ready commercialization.
About Semicon India Programme
Semicon India Programme aims to provide attractive incentive support to companies / consortia that are engaged in Silicon Semiconductor Fabs, Display Fabs, Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors (including MEMS) Fabs, Semiconductor Packaging (ATMP / OSAT) and Semiconductor Design.
