DTU Gets Semiconductor Centre of Excellence Named After Vinod Dham to Promote Chip Design

New Delhi: To boost India’s semiconductor ecosystem further, the Vinod Dham Centre of Excellence for Semiconductors and Microelectronics was inaugurated at Delhi Technological University (DTU).

The centre is named after Vinod Dham, known as the “Father of the Pentium Chip” for his contributions to the development of Intel’s Pentium microprocessor and an important figure in the global semiconductor industry.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Railways and Communications, Ashwini Vaishnaw, who called the development a “major step in building a strong design ecosystem for semiconductors.”

In a social media post, Vaishnaw wrote:

“Strong focus on talent development for India’s semiconductor ecosystem. Chips to Start-up program: Over 1 lakh students (B-Tech/ M-Tech/ PhD) onboarded, 263 institutions supported with world-class EDA tools, 65 R&D projects at 113 organisations, SMART lab at Nielit, Calicut, 170 trainings by ChipIN centre. 20 ASICs fabricated at SCL foundry & 14 ASICs sent for fabrication.”

The centre has been established under the Chips to Startup (C2S) programme launched by the IT ministry, with a mission to drive innovation, research and indigenous capability in semiconductor design and microelectronics.

The facility at DTU will serve as a national hub for talent development, support research and prototyping, and foster collaboration between academia and industry.

To further build the semiconductor design infrastructure, the ministry has also operationalised the SMART Lab at NIELIT Calicut, hosted over 170 training sessions through the ChipIN Centre, and facilitated access to critical EDA tools and IP cores for academic and industry partners.

During the event, Vinod Dham encouraged students and startups to make the most of the opportunity to participate in India’s semiconductor mission, stressing that semiconductors are the “lifeblood of modern civilization.”

He also underlined the importance of creating a strong domestic design ecosystem to complement future chip fabrication capabilities.

The inauguration of this Centre of Excellence is expected to further India’s efforts under the broader Semicon India programme as the country seeks to emerge as a key player in the global semiconductor value chain.

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