Digital India RISC-V Grand Challenge under C2S Programme awarded to 3 teams
Published: Sep 21, 2026
By TIOLCorplaws News Service
NEW DELHI, SEP 21, 2026: SEMICON India 2026 concluded saturday at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi, with a series of 15 announcements and collaborations during its concluding session. The initiatives are aimed at strengthening India's capabilities in semiconductor design, indigenous computing, fabrication management, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, start-up engagement and workforce development. They brought together Government institutions, industry, academia and skilling organisations to translate India's semiconductor ambitions into deployable technologies, stronger domestic infrastructure and industry-ready talent.
The day's proceedings placed particular emphasis on innovation using indigenous processor platforms, wider access to advanced computing, sovereign digital infrastructure and practical skilling across chip design, verification, testing, semiconductor manufacturing and Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP).
1. Digital India RISC-V Grand Challenge winners announced
The winners of the Digital India RISC-V (DIR-V) Grand Challenge, organised by Maker Village under the Chips to Startup (C2S) Programme of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), were announced. The challenge received participation from 1,236 teams comprising 5,045 participants from across the country. Three teams received total prize money of Rs 60 lakh:
First Prize: Meevisai Technologies Pvt. Ltd., representing Team Digital Dawgs from SASTRA University, Thanjavur, developed an autonomous water-surface cleaning robot, using the indigenous SHAKTI processor developed by IIT Madras. The robot is designed to clean inland water bodies such as ponds and temple tanks.
Second Prize: Digiscope LLP, representing Team Binary Bandits from ER&DCI Institute of Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, developed VEGA Chikitsa, a digital stethoscope that captures heart and lung sounds with real-time filtering and supports recording, remote monitoring and machine-learning-assisted murmur screening, using the indigenous VEGA processor developed by CDAC.
Third Prize: Zetawave Technologies Pvt. Ltd., representing Team NeuroBytes from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, developed a forest-environment monitoring system using the indigenous VEGA processor.
New technology platforms and innovation challenges launched
2. Bharat AI-SoC Challenge 2026-27: The second edition of the challenge was launched under the C2S Programme for undergraduate and postgraduate students and working professionals in artificial intelligence and system-on-chip design. The initiative is supported by the UK Government through the UK-India Technology Security Initiative and will remain open for one month from the date of launch.
3. SCL DMIS for fab automation: The Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL), Mohali, launched Device Manufacturing Integrated System (DMIS), an indigenous manufacturing execution system for efficient management of wafer-fabrication activities. Its modular, plug-and-play architecture supports end-to-end management from order booking and wafer fabrication to final packaging, strengthening shop-floor control and manufacturing efficiency.
Partnerships for sovereign computing and digital infrastructure
4. C-DAC and NLC India Limited: The organisations announced a collaboration to establish a data centre within India's energy-sector ecosystem by leveraging indigenous technologies and expertise. The partnership seeks to promote secure and advanced digital infrastructure while strengthening self-reliance and technological capability in the energy sector.
5. C-DAC and Bharat Electronics Limited: C-DAC and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) announced a collaboration to jointly develop and deliver indigenous high-performance computing, artificial intelligence and sovereign data-centre solutions. The partnership will combine C-DAC's advanced computing technologies with BEL's system-integration and deployment capabilities.
Indigenous AI and quantum platforms
6. PARAM Vidya: C-DAC launched PARAM Vidya, a ready-to-deploy AI Excellence Lab-in-a-Box for universities, research institutions, start-ups and MSMEs. Its plug-and-play architecture and indigenous software ecosystem are intended to widen access to artificial intelligence and high-performance computing and support research, skilling and application development.
7. PARAM Shavak-QS: C-DAC inaugurated PARAM Shavak-QS, a compact, high-performance quantum simulation platform designed to enable research, education and innovation in quantum technologies and broaden access to quantum-computing capabilities.
Industry-aligned semiconductor workforce initiatives
8. Electronics Sector Skills Council of India and Maitrio Labs: A strategic partnership was announced to strengthen the semiconductor skilling ecosystem and develop training infrastructure aligned with the emerging requirements of semiconductor manufacturing.
9. Electronics Sector Skills Council of India and Truechip Solutions: The organisations announced a partnership for training and certification of youth in semiconductor circuit design, verification and testing, with the objective of building industry-ready skills across the semiconductor value chain.
10. SEMI and Peachtree Elevate: An MoU was exchanged to advance semiconductor workforce development through technical training, professional education and customised certification pathways, combining SEMI's global ecosystem and SEMI University resources with Peachtree Elevate's demand-led skilling model.
11. NIELIT semiconductor workforce initiatives: NIELIT announced initiatives for ATMP skilling and a Digital Twin for Semiconductor Manufacturing. These will combine digital learning, hands-on training and immersive simulations through NIELIT Centres of Excellence, the NIELIT Digital University Platform, the upcoming ATMP facility at Guwahati and the Digital Twin.
12. Ramaiah Institute of Advanced Skills and Technology (RIASAT) and IISc Bengaluru: The Ramaiah Institute of Advanced Skills and Technology and IISc Bengaluru exchanged an MoU to advance India's semiconductor capabilities through closer institutional collaboration.
Innovation start-up engagement and ecosystem roadmap
13. SEMICON India Hackathon Grand Finale: The SEMICON India Hackathon received 3,808 team registrations from 881 colleges and 1,053 ideas, with 10 teams reaching the Grand Finale. Teams from VIT Vellore and IIT Madras emerged as winners, while teams from KPR Institute and VIT Vellore were runners-up.
14. Startup Mitra: Under Startup Mitra, 11 start-ups pitched to over 20 venture capital investors. Elphins Technologies secured first place, Meukron Technologies stood second, while Multi Nano Sense Technologies and CraftifAI jointly received third place.
15. EY and ISEA report launch: EY and the India Semiconductor and Electronics Association (ISEA) launched the report "Semicon India 2.0: From Capacity Creation to Ecosystem Leadership". The report highlights an opportunity for India's semiconductor market to grow from nearly USD 64 billion in 2026 to USD 200 billion by 2035 and outlines a roadmap to translate domestic demand and design talent into leadership across manufacturing, advanced packaging and innovation.
The announcements at the concluding session complemented the MoUs and partnerships unveiled during the first two days of SEMICON India 2026. Together, they reflected a broad-based effort to strengthen the ecosystem from indigenous processors and research platforms to fabrication operations, sovereign infrastructure, industry-academia collaboration and specialized talent.
Together with the 41 announcements and MoUs during the first two days, the initiatives at SEMICON India 2026 reflected increasing collaboration among Government, industry, academia, startups and R&D organisations to translate semiconductor capabilities into technology development, skilled talent, commercialisation and deployment.
