On 2 September 2025, India’s Union Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnav handed over India’s first completely indigenous microprocessor Vikram 3201 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Semicon India 2025 program. This chip has been developed by the Semiconductor Laboratory of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
Vaishnav said that in 2021, the India Semiconductor Mission started under the visionary thinking of Prime Minister Modi. The world has started believing in India in just 3.5 years. During this time, construction of five semiconductor units is going on fast.
What are semiconductor?
Semiconductors are substances that are neither a driver (conductor), nor a completely insulator. For example, copper wire is the driver, while the glass insulator. In the semiconductor, when some substances are mixed and the electric field is applied, the power flow starts.
Semiconductors are extremely important for electronic devices because transistors are made through them. Transistors are the basic components of modern electronics.
History and development
Earlier vacuum tubes were used, but they were large, warm and unstable.
The problem was solved by the invention of the transistor in 1947.
In 1958, Jack Kilbie created the first Integrated Circuit (IC), which was called chip in general language.
In 1971, Intel launched the first microprocessor 4004.
Modern semiconductor chips
In today’s chips, transistors, diodes, capacitors, resistors and connections between them are made on a silicone wafer. These are used in almost all modern equipment – smartphones, supercomputers, electric cars, missiles etc. -.
Construction process
The chips are formed in the foundry, in which the silicon is cut into a thin wafer. It is then polished and grounded and installed IC. Clean rooms are required throughout the process so that no dust) does not affect the chip. This process can contain 500–1500 steps.
