What's the Big Deal About a 3 nm 'Designed in India' Chip?

Recently, Indian IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took to social media to reveal that a 3 mn chip will be 'designed in India.'

Japanese semiconductor manufacturer Renesas Electronics is setting up dedicated chip design centres for developing advanced 3-nanometer semiconductors in Noida and Bengaluru.

“This is India’s first design centre to work on 3 nm chip design, a milestone that places India firmly in the global league of semiconductor innovation. Designing at 3nm is truly next-generation. We’ve done 7nm and 5nm earlier, but this marks a new frontier," Vaishnaw said at the event.

Even though this is a first for India, does this development align meaningfully with India's own semiconductor ambitions? The answer is no.

According to semiconductor expert Arun Mamphazy, it is not a very big deal. Besides creating a few more jobs (which is a good thing), it does not contribute in anyway to India's semiconductor ambitions.

In fact, India has been a design hub for many large semiconductor players such as Texas Instruments, NXP Semiconductor, AMD and NVIDIA, for decades.

"Design can imply one of two things - an Indian fabless or a foreign company's Global Capability Centre (GCC)," Mamphazy pointed out.

Interestingly, this isn't Renesas Electronics' first foray into India—they've had a presence here for some time. What’s new is the expansion through dedicated chip design centres focused specifically on advanced 3nm semiconductor development.

India's only fabrication unit, a joint venture between Tata Electronics and Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC), is still in its development phase. The fab is expected to be operational in December 2026.

Chips manufactured at Tata’s upcoming facility in Dholera, Gujarat, will proudly carry the ‘Made in India’ label — a milestone that reflects exactly what India should be striving for in its semiconductor journey.