In a major boost to Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the Centre on Tuesday launched the Rs 4.30 crore “Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge- Innovate Solutions for Aatmanirbhar Bharat” to provide further impetus to the strong ecosystem of start-up, innovation, and research in the country.

“Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge- Innovate Solutions for #Aatmanirbhar Bharat seeks to invite innovators, startups, and students to use these microprocessors to develop various technology products…this initiative is aimed at not only meeting India’s future requirements of strategic and industrial sectors but also has the potential to mitigate the issues of security, licensing, technology obsolescence and most crucially cutting dependency on imports,” an official statement said.

The government will offer financial support of ₹4.30 crore at various stages of the challenge for developing the hardware prototype and incubating a start-up will be offered. While the registration process begins on 18 August, the challenge will be spread over 10 months.

Launched by Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Challenge gives the opportunity to develop products using IIT Madras and CDAC microprocessors. IIT Madras and Center for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) have developed two microprocessors named SHAKTI (32 bit) and VEGA (64 bit) respectively using Open Source Architecture under the aegis of Microprocessor Development Programme of Ministry of Electronics and IT.

 

According to the ministry, the design, development, and fabrication of these state-of-the-art processor variants at the foundry in the country and abroad, is a successful step to reaching the ultimate goal of vibrant ecosystem of Electronic System Design and manufacturing in the country. The participants in this challenge will receive various incentives which include internship opportunities and technical guidance from leading VLSI and Electronics System Design experts. Besides, there will be financial assistance to the tune of Rs 4.30 crore given at various stages of the challenge for developing the hardware prototype.

The challenge is spread over 10 months. It will start on August 18, 2020, and culminate in June 2021. The top 100 semi-finalists and 25 finalists will receive a cash award. The top 10 teams entering the final will get a seed fund of total Rs 2.30 crore and 12 months incubation support. The participants also stand a chance to facilitate their ideas onto the marketplace.