Odisha Set To Launch Chip Programme For Semiconductor Design, Manufacture

Bhubaneswar: To give a major boost to the electronic sector, the state government will soon implement the much-awaited Odisha Chip (O-Chip) programme.

State-of-the-art facility will be created under the programme for  semiconductor designing and manufacturing and generating high-end jobs. The chips will be manufactured in a fabeless manner, sources said.

The O-Chip initiative is sought to be a one-stop shop for fabless product companies and startups where they can be provided advanced designing and testing infrastructure and mentoring support from the best minds in the industry.

As per plan, a government-supported Centre of Excellence (CoE) will bring top rated industry associations and research institutions on a single platform.

Under the programme, the state government will set up a centralised fabrication laboratory (FabLab) where young and aspiring engineers can design and build smart innovative devices and chips to meet specific needs.

State-of-the-art infrastructure with cutting-edge design and testing tools will be provided to enable startups, companies and academic institutions to collaborate and utilise their potential.

While the location of the proposed FabLab and the ecosystem to be created is yet to be finalised, the facility is likely to come up on the premises of O-HUB, Odisha’s maiden centralised incubator, wholly owned and operated by the government.

Around Rs 200 is proposed to be spent by the government in the next five years on the programme to promote a conducive fabless ecosystem along with chip design companies and startups and create more than 5000 high-end jobs.

Usually, semiconductor design involves usage of highly advanced electronic design automation (EDA) software to automate the design process and proprietary fabrication processes. Since a single chip can house billions of transistors, the state-of-the-art EDA tools, a critical component of the O-Chip programme will be beneficial for engineers for designing modern semiconductors.

The state government has provisioned Rs 30 crore in the budget for 2023-24 for the programme for creating skilled professionals in chip and system design.