India unveiled a fully indigenous 32-bit microprocessor – ‘Vikram’, that has been developed by, and for, the Indian Space Research Organisation – at a semiconductor industry event in Delhi. At the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, fresh from China and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, called microprocessors ‘digital diamonds’. “If the last century was shaped by oil, this is by a small chip,” he said, emphasising the importance of these miniature powerhouses of computing.
The Prime Minister was, if anything, underplaying the significance of microprocessors in a world dominated by the digital, a world in which everything – from the watch on your wrist and the car in your garage to the life-saving medical equipment at hospitals – relies on microchips. Nearly every modern electronic item needs microchips, and India is positioning itself to be a key player in this space, competing against Taiwan, China, South Korea, and the United States.
Pitching for increased global investment in India’s nascent semiconductor and microprocessor industry – worth an estimated $50 billion today and projected to cross $100 billion by 2030 – the Prime Minister declared, “The world is ready to build the semiconductor future with India.” India’s first fully home-made chip is a 32-bit microprocessor with a custom instruction set architecture. This means it can handle 32 bits of data at a time and can be programmed – i.e., the instruction set architecture, or ISA – to understand and execute a wide variety of orders.
It also has high-level support for the Ada programming language, which is widely known for its reliability and has applications in satellites, air traffic control systems, and launch vehicles. That is not unexpected, given ‘Vikram’ was designed by India’s space agency for use in harsh conditions. In fact, it can withstand a range of temperatures, from -55 to 125 degrees Celsius. Properly called ‘Vikram 3201’, it is an upgrade over the 1601 variant – which can compute only 16 bits of data at a time – that ISRO has been using since 2009.
‘Vikram’ is a big step in the government’s ‘aatmanirbhar’, or ‘self-reliant’ India, push. It is critical because it confirms India’s capacity to design and manufacture space-grade microprocessors, chips that can withstand extreme temperatures and remain fully functional. Being able to make this at home – and Mr Modi made mention of this during his Independence Day speech – will significantly reduce the cost of India’s space missions. It will also pave the way for the design and manufacture of chips for civilian use.
That will feed a larger commercial ecosystem of electronics giants, like Apple or Samsung, or others for whom they are a critical component, such as the $240 billion automotive industry that accounts for over five per cent of India’s GDP, and the nearly $18 billion appliances and consumer electronics industry. Being able to source high-quality chips locally, rather than importing them from China or Taiwan, will incentivise them to set up production facilities here, rather than building abroad and shipping them in.
