Today, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, and Jal Shakti, opened India’s first FutureLABS center at C-DAC Thiruvananthapuram. The “Centre for Semiconductor Chips & Systems for Strategic Electronics” will be a pivotal hub in driving the development of an ecosystem centered around the design, production, and research of next-generation chips.
A partnership between C-DAC (T) and the Ministry of Railways for the advancement of electric locomotive technologies was one of the other announcements. C-DAC(T) and Tata Power inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the advancement and application of microgrid technologies. Additionally, BelRise Industries Limited was announced as the recipient of the technology for the wireless charger for electric vehicles, which was created by C-DAC(T) and VNIT Nagpur.
The Minister spoke to more than 100 students and outlined the prospects this center will offer them, together with important industrial partners.
“You have seen the amount of silicon in Chandrayaan 3 and electronics in INS Vikrant, both of which have deep roots in Kerala,” stated Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar. FutureLABS is essentially a collaboration between academia, industry, startups, students, and CDAC as the government system. In the government and business, we have a very clear vision: the world’s digital economies and digitization are growing at a rate never seen before. Three areas—AI, semiconductors, and the future of electronics—have enormous potential for Indian businesses and students. In order to establish these labs within colleges and universities, CDAC will be a willing and helpful partner. Thiruvananthapuram will become India’s next innovation hotspot thanks to this program.
The Minister went on to discuss the innate need for these kinds of partnerships and endeavors. “India has made tremendous progress in the semiconductor industry. We were completely absent from the industry for 75 years, but in the last few years, we have received investments totaling 2.5 lakh crores, and we are now building an ecosystem that encompasses fab manufacturing, innovation, packaging, design, skills, and research,” he stated. Even in domains that are not naturally digital, technology is becoming more and more prevalent due to the unparalleled acceleration of digitization and digital technologies. It is evident that the trend of digitization is growing. The second tendency is that, in the upcoming years, two key technologies that will influence what is known as technology are semiconductors and artificial intelligence. The third is that nearly every system in use today—including laptops, desktop computers, servers, cars, and railroads—is being completely reimagined and rearchitected. Thus, there is a chance to entirely re-design and re-architect systems now. This is what the future LABS is all about; I refer to it as the next wave of companies, systems, and innovation.
The industry partners in attendance emphasized the benefits of working with C-DAC and said as such, they will keep supporting the development of Kerala’s tech innovation ecosystem.
“We have been able to scale and excel because of the continuous support and strong leadership of Minister Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar,” stated Shri Atul Deshmukh, VP of eMobility at Kalyani Powertrain Ltd. Through these efforts, we hope to establish more partnerships of this kind.
According to TP Renewable Microgrid Ltd. CEO Shri Manoj Gupta, “The partnership between Tata Power and CDAC is a historic moment.” As a group, we have installed solar-powered micro grids in 200 villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar using recently developed battery technology. That’s what we’ll be doing in Kerala too. We will be able to utilize the power of microgrids thanks to this partnership.
“The Minister’s great work and determination towards Digital India and Entrepreneurship has boosted many companies’ morale towards self-reliance and technology,” stated Ms. Meenakshi Singh, Director of JMV LPS Ltd. JMV, Indian Railways, and CDAC have reached an important milestone. native locomotive propulsion system consisting of three parts. India is now positioned as a major player in the global railway propulsion systems market thanks to our homegrown locomotive propulsion system technology, which also demonstrates our dedication to innovation. Additionally, by using an AI-based predictive maintenance system for railway essentials that is conceived, produced, and built domestically, we are helping to modernize the maintenance and operations of railroads.
