MeitY 서기관 S. 크리슈난에 따르면, 인도는 반도체 미션 2.0에 따라 약 2년 내에 자체 GPU를 개발하고, SHAKTI 및 VEGA 프로세서를 상용화할 계획이다.

India wants to develop its own graphics processing unit (GPU) within the next two years as it works to build a domestic semiconductor industry and reduce its dependence on foreign chip suppliers, according to ETGovernment. S. Krishnan, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), outlined the target in a November 4 interview.

"Under India Semiconductor Mission 2.0, we intend to target the development of an indigenous GPU chip. We should have a GPU chip of our own. This will not happen overnight. It is a project that will require approximately 24 months, and we intend to work towards that objective," Krishnan said.

The proposed GPU is part of a broader plan to establish an Indian hardware and software ecosystem. Krishnan described five layers needed to support AI development: energy, accelerator chips, computing infrastructure and servers, AI models, and applications. Indian companies such as VVDN, Kaynes and Avalon already manufacture servers. The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) has developed its Rudra server range, which is designed to support AI workloads. After development, the government transfers the technology to local manufacturers.

Krishnan also sees AI as a potential repeat of the opportunity India's IT industry experienced during the Y2K (year 2000 bug) transition. "AI could create a similar opportunity, although the nature of the work will be different," he said.

The comparison is significant for a country whose IT-enabled services sector employs about 6 million people. A NITI Aayog paper estimates that roughly 2 million existing jobs could become redundant as AI adoption changes the industry, but around 4 million new jobs could emerge. Krishnan argues that Indian companies could benefit by helping businesses worldwide integrate AI into their operations, much as they benefited from demand for software services around the turn of the century.

The country has already attracted major international interest. ASML is partnering with Tata Electronics to equip India's first commercial semiconductor fabrication facility in Dholera, Gujarat. The planned facility is expected to use 300mm wafers and eventually reach a capacity of 50,000 wafers per month. Intel has also announced a strategic partnership with the Tata Group covering semiconductor manufacturing and packaging for the Indian market.

However, the proposed GPU remains an early-stage target. Krishnan did not identify a manufacturer, chip supplier, or builder for the project.

India is also looking to bring its own homegrown SHAKTI and VEGA processors to commercial markets. Both are based on the open-source RISC-V architecture, which allows local developers to build processors without relying on proprietary CPU designs. These are CPU designs, separate from the GPUs now being targeted by MeitY.

This is not the first time India has attempted to build its own processor technology. In 2019, IIT Madras released a software development kit that allowed developers to begin building applications before the processors were commercialized. The project included several processor classes aimed at different markets, from embedded devices and microcontrollers to workstations and server workloads. Development has continued since then. The Aries 3.0 development board, which uses C-DAC's VEGA ET301 processor, was introduced in 2024. The 32-bit chip runs at up to 100MHz, includes 26KB of SRAM, and is intended for relatively simple applications such as sensors, wearables, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, rather than desktop PCs or graphics-intensive workloads.

There are, however, signs that the SHAKTI and VEGA platforms are moving beyond development boards and into practical applications. At the September 26 SEMICOM India event, the government highlighted projects using the processors, including an autonomous water-cleaning robot built around SHAKTI and a digital telescope using VEGA. Another VEGA-based project was designed to monitor forest environments. The government's Design-Linked Incentive (DLI) program is already supporting more of this work. MeitY says 24 companies received assistance under the scheme and subsequently raised venture capital or other private investment. Their projects include microcontrollers, drone flight controllers, smart meter chips, and CCTV cameras.

India's semiconductor market is currently valued at about $50 billion and is expected to approach $100 billion by 2030, according to a report by the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA). The government wants local companies to capture more of that growth domestically rather than remain dependent on imported components.