India must accelerate digitisation via chip manufacturing: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

In order to enable India to become a trillion-dollar digital economy by 2025, it is imperative for the country to accelerate the pace of digitalisation with focus on innovation and engineering across semiconductor product design, including hardware and software, Union Minister of State for IT and Skill Development Rajeev Chandrasekhar said here on Thursday.

After inaugurating Intel India's state-of-the-art design and engineering centre here, he said that Intel's critical contributions and relentless quest to advance innovation in design and engineering in the country over the past two and half decades highlights the design opportunity India offers to the world.

"The inauguration of Intel's new state-of-the-art design facility in Bengaluru is a testament of its commitment to contribute towards bolstering India's technology leadership," the minister told the audience.

The centre, spread in 4.53 lakh square feet space, will advance Intel India's cutting-edge design engineering work in client, data centre, internet of things (IoT), graphics, artificial intelligence, and automotive segments.

"This state-of-the-art centre offers an amazing environment for our employees to innovate while they enjoy the energetic and collaborative vibes in the workplace. This also helps in furthering our contributions and capabilities across leadership products that enable customers' innovation and growth," Intel India head and Intel Foundry Services Vice President Nivruti Rai said.

One floor at the centre is dedicated to high tech R&D labs for silicon design and validation purposes.

India has the company's largest design and engineering centre outside the US, with state-of-the-art design facilities in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Intel has invested over $8 billion in India to date and continues to expand its R&D and innovation footprint in the country.