MeitY Unveils Digital India FutureLABS at IIIT in New Delhi

Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Jal Shakti, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, inaugurated the "Digital India FutureLABS” and delivered the keynote speech at the ‘Digital India FutureLABS Summit 2024.’ The summit was centered on ‘Catalyzing the Next-generation Electronics System Design through Digital India FutureLABS’.

During the Summit, 22 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were announced between C-DAC and industry partners for the implementation of the FutureLABS. Notable companies such as NXP Semiconductors, Tenstorrent, and Qualcomm India have signed MoUs covering various areas, including High-Performance Computing, Design & Innovation in Compute space, and the Indian Telecom Stack.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar addressed the summit, which featured senior leadership from major industry players, startups, young Indians, and academia in the field of electronics manufacturing.

“So over the last ten years, India’s journey has transformed from being a consumer of technologies and a provider of talent for large technology companies worldwide to becoming a country where talent is certainly available. We continue to support global companies and enterprises with our talent, while also taking the lead in developing technologies, intellectual properties, and solutions for ourselves and the world. India’s tech & innovation ecosystem is expanding and growing while catalyzing the next wave of startups in AI to Semiconductors, Electronics System Design & Innovation starting at Digital India FutureLABS. The Digital India FutureLABS is the final piece in architecture for innovation being built by PM Narendra Modi ji since the Digital India program in 2015. It represents an opportunity for Indian startups at the forefront of developing NextGen Electronics in Automotive, Compute, Telecom, Industrial, and Strategic Electronics. Digital India FutureLABS will act as a catalyst for this and in rounding off our ambitions of ensuring the Indian flag on every segment of emerging Tech Innovation,” said Chandrasekhar.

“What we expect from the FutureLabs is what emerged from AT&T’s Bell Labs and other laboratories in Albany, such as nanotech. These high-performance systems will be globally competitive, affordable, low-cost, and trusted. Openness, safety, and trust are principles we want to build broadly into our digital ecosystem,” further he added.

Coordinated by C-DAC, the Digital India FutureLABS aims to capitalize on the trillion-dollar opportunity within the Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sector. The initiative aims to ascend the value chain, strengthen domestic research and development (R&D), and foster a collaborative ecosystem for the advancement of intellectual properties (IPs), standards, and next-generation Electronics System Design within the nation.

With a focus on key growth sectors like Compute, Communication, Automotive & Mobility, Strategic Electronics, and Industrial IoT, the FutureLABS initiative is strategically poised to harness cutting-edge technologies such as AI, Big Data, and Quantum Computing. This marks a transformative phase in Indian research and development.