DHRUV64 reflects India’s rise in semiconductor innovation, signalling its ambition to shift from chip consumer to competitor in a landscape led by the US in design, Taiwan in manufacturing, and China in scale
Semiconductors are the ‘mighty mites’ of modern technology, powering systems ranging from smart grids to transport, communications, and defence technologies. Currently, the US leads in chip design, accounting for around 50 percent of global market revenue; Taiwan dominates foundry operations with approximately 60 percent of global foundry[1] revenue; and China is actively expanding its footprint to build a domestic ecosystem capable of both designing and manufacturing chips, having aimed for 70 percent self-sufficiency by 2025, and projected to reach 30 percent of global foundry capacity by 2030.
India, despite consuming 20 percent of the world’s chips, remains largely import-dependent, with imports reaching nearly US$ 24 billion in 2024. To address this gap and strengthen its indigenous microprocessor development ecosystem, India has undertaken several strategic initiatives. DHRUV64 represents a key milestone in this continuum and marks another step towards bridging the gap and advancing chip self-reliance.
DHRUV64 is a 1.0 GHz, 64-bit dual-core microprocessor, domestically designed by the C-DAC Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), marking a step forward in India’s semiconductor journey. Designed with RISC-V architecture, it is suitable for 5G infrastructure, automotive systems, consumer electronics, industrial automation, and the Internet of Things (IoT), among other applications.
DHRUV64 is a 1.0 GHz, 64-bit dual-core microprocessor, domestically designed by the C-DAC Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), marking a step forward in India’s semiconductor journey.
Several factors make this innovation significant. Its RISC-V architecture is open-source and royalty-free, eliminating licensing costs in future mass production and thereby ensuring a more cost-effective chip than its global counterparts. Furthermore, being homegrown, it eliminates the possibility of embedded spyware or backdoors—critical for sectors where security is a necessity, not a choice. These characteristics enable Dhruv64 to function as a collaborative platform, fostering an ecosystem for startups, academia and industry to develop Indian computing products without relying on foreign IP cores.
DHRUV64 itself stands on steady, incremental progress: the journey began with SHAKTI and AJIT in 2018, advanced through THEJAS32 for embedded systems, and reached space-grade VIKRAM and industrial THEJAS64 in 2025. With DHRUV64 providing the next crucial step, next-generation Dhanush processors are already under development.
Currently, the global semiconductor ecosystem is broadly structured around three major actors, each leveraging distinct strengths.
The United States is the world’s leading semiconductor power in terms of market share, design capability and technological leadership. It commands over 50 percent of global revenue, amounting to nearly US$ 318 billion in 2024. However, domestic manufacturing capacity has declined from 37 percent in 1990 to just 10 percent by 2022. To reverse this, the US enacted the CHIPS and Science Act with an outlay of US$ 52.7 billion. More recently, the 2025 AI Action Plan under President Donald Trump seeks to onshore the industry by reshaping the CHIPS Act into a more “venture-capital-style” approach, including equity or revenue sharing. This signals a shift towards a more transactional, return-oriented industrial policy while still promoting domestic chip manufacturing and sustaining design dominance.
Taiwan occupies a uniquely strategic position in the global semiconductor ecosystem. It accounts for over 60 percent of global foundry revenue and more than 90 percent of leading chip production; in 2024, its semiconductor sales generated nearly US$ 165 billion. Government support under the Industrial Innovation Act plays a key role in reinforcing Taiwan’s dominance, driving high-intensity research and advanced manufacturing through strategic tax breaks and expenditure recovery. Simultaneously, robust national security laws (including Article 3 of the National Security Act) protect core semiconductor technologies by penalising the unauthorised disclosure of critical trade secrets to foreign entities.
China’s focus lies in boosting volume and self-sufficiency. Through sustained state-led policy—from the ‘908 Project’ to the National IC Industry Investment Fund—it now accounts for roughly 21 percent of global production. Under the ‘Made in China 2025’ policy, China is targeting 70 percent semiconductor self-sufficiency; its National IC Industry Investment Fund provides over US$ 47 billion to advance chip self-reliance amid increasing US export restrictions. This is particularly significant as China aims to substantially increase advanced chip output by 2026 to support its AI sector, targeting 100,000 wafers per month. Chinese fabs command a large share of the global legacy-node market and are undergoing rapid expansion in manufacturing capability. For India, China is both a strong competitor in terms of scale and volume and an example of the capital-intensive pathway towards technological independence.
Against the backdrop of the current global semiconductor landscape, India’s objective of reducing external dependencies showcases the importance of its homegrown innovations such as DHRUV64.
DHRUV64 represents a meaningful step towards advancing India’s objective of semiconductor self-reliance and the broader national vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Earlier policy and programmatic efforts, particularly the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), have established the foundational framework for this ambition. With a financial outlay of INR 76,000 crore, it helped catalyse domestic manufacturing capacity and nurture a nascent design ecosystem. Building on this foundation, ISM 2.0, with an initial allocation of INR 1,000 crore, represents a strategic pivot towards creating semiconductor intellectual property, among other objectives. By prioritising IP development, ISM seeks to provide a framework to bolster the commercial creation and viability of domestic chips, potentially reducing reliance on expensive foreign IP cores.
However, such scaling demands a robust manufacturing foundation. To address this challenge, the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) incentivises the production of critical components and capital equipment, aiming to support and develop localised hardware ecosystems. This scheme is complementary to the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), working alongside it to strengthen the domestic semiconductor and electronics ecosystem.
While initiatives such as the India Semiconductor Mission have created a strong policy foundation, India continues to rely on foreign foundries for the fabrication of advanced chips.
Together, these initiatives represent an optimistic blueprint for fostering a self-reliant digital future, where homegrown innovation is supported continuously from the initial design phase through to final large-scale hardware assembly.
India’s ambition to build a robust semiconductor manufacturing base faces several structural and operational challenges that must be addressed to translate design capabilities into large-scale industrial production. While initiatives such as the India Semiconductor Mission have created a strong policy foundation, India continues to rely on foreign foundries for the fabrication of advanced chips.
Additionally, such fabrication is an extremely capital-intensive and technologically complex process that demands advanced process engineering, high-precision equipment and reliable supply chains for speciality chemicals, wafers and lithography systems. India also faces a critical shortage of skilled personnel required to manage and scale fabrication units. Infrastructure challenges, such as stable power supply and ultra-pure water availability, among others, could further delay the establishment of globally competitive fabs.
DHRUV64 marks a critical step forward in India’s silicon journey, demonstrating that indigenous chip designs are no longer aspirational but achievable, while setting the stage for further innovation in semiconductor design and related products.
To bridge these gaps, India is already taking targeted measures to strengthen its semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure. The recent inauguration of Micron’s semiconductor unit marks a watershed moment for domestic assembly and testing. Similarly, the HCL–Foxconn partnership signals India’s push towards chip self-reliance through global collaboration. This momentum is further reinforced by Tata Electronics’ strategic partnerships with Intel for silicon ecosystems, ROHM for power semiconductors, and Qualcomm for advanced automotive modules, aimed at strengthening different aspects of semiconductor manufacturing and the supply chain.
Targeted investments in workforce development are essential. Collaborations between fabs, industry bodies and premier institutions could also focus on training experts in semiconductor process engineering, equipment maintenance and yield optimisation.
Together, these measures can enable India to transform its strong chip design ecosystem into a globally competitive semiconductor manufacturing hub. DHRUV64 marks a critical step forward in India’s silicon journey, demonstrating that indigenous chip designs are no longer aspirational but achievable, while setting the stage for further innovation in semiconductor design and related products.
Debajyoti Chakravarty is a Research Assistant with the Centre for Digital Societies at the Observer Research Foundation.
Khush Advani is a Research Intern with the Centre for Digital Societies at the Observer Research Foundation.
[1] Foundries are massive plants that manufacture chips.
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Debajyoti Chakravarty is a Research Assistant at ORF’s Center for New Economic Diplomacy (CNED) and is based at ORF Kolkata. His work focuses on the use ...
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Khush Advani is a Research Assistant with the Development Studies Programme at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF). He focuses on leveraging data analysis to support the ...
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