"Special Manpower Development
Program for Chips to System Design (SMDP-C2SD)" is an Umbrella
programme initiated under Digital India Program in December 2014
at 60 Academic and Research & Development Institutions spread
across the country including IITs, NITs, IISc, IIITs, etc. The
project aims to not only develop more than 50,000 Specialized
Manpower in the area of VLSI/System Design at B.Tech, M.Tech &
Ph.D levels but also to design & develop proof-of-concept Working
Prototypes of 15 SoCs/ 70 ASICs/30 FPGA based designs thereby
moving up in the value chain by bringing in culture of SoC/ Chip
Design in the Country.
Background
During the 9th Plan, MeitY
(erstwhile DeitY) had initiated the Special Manpower Development
Programme in VLSI Design and Related Software (SMDP-I) with a view
to increase India's share of the Global VLSI Design market from
0.5% to 5% by the end of 9th Plan period by making available
specialized manpower required by the Design Centers/ Industry. The
project was initiated at nineteen institutions in 1998 with total
outlay of Rs. 14.99 Crores and was completed in March 2005.
Seeing the impact of SMDP-I,
MeitY (erstwhile DeitY) in the 10th Plan initiated SMDP-II with an
aim to increase the global VLSI Design market share to around 15%
by 2010. It also aimed to increase the availability of specialized
manpower in the area of VLSI design so that the annual turnover
from design houses could reach a figure of about Rs. 5000 Crores
by the year 2010. SMDP-II was initiated with a total outlay of Rs.
49.98 Crores (over a period of 5 years) at 32 institutions. 7
Resource Centers (mainly IITs, IISc and CEERI) mentored 25
Participating Institutions (NITs and few others) for
implementation of SMDP-II. SMDP-II concluded in the year 2013.
Vision
The workforce in semiconductor
design industry in India in 2009 was around 1,35,000. It grew at a
Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20% and was more than
2,30,000 in 2012. The Semiconductor Design Industry was around US$
10.6 Billion by 2012. However, if it is proposed to achieve
turnover of US$ 55 Billion by 2020 in the area of VLSI, Chip
Design and other Frontier Technical Areas, it will require a
sizable skilled manpower to meet these targets. The Government is
also promoting Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM)
in the country.
Mission
In the National Policy on
Electronics, it is proposed to achieve turnover of US$ 400 billion
by 2020. It follows that there is a need to develop manpower that
has expertise not only in VLSI design but also in System on Chip/
System Development. Thus, there is a need to initiate an
integrated program entitled 'Special Manpower Development for
Chips to System' which not only aims at developing specialized
manpower in VLSI but also emphasizes on development of working
prototypes of System on Chip/ System using mostly ASICs/ ICs
designed in the program. This will, therefore, be a step towards
bringing a 'SoC/System' development culture in academic
institutions in the country.
Objectives
The main objectives of the
Special Manpower Development Program for Chips to System
Development are:
- Bring in a culture of System on Chip/ System designing by
developing working prototypes with societal applications.
- Capacity building in the area of VLSI/ Microelectronics
and Chips to System Development.
- Broaden the base of ASIC/ IC designing in the country.
- Broaden the R&D base of Microelectronics/ Chips to System
Design through networked PhD program.
- Promote 'Knowledge Exchange Program'.
