A centre to design computer chips was inaugurated at the Bengal Engineering and Science University on Thursday.
State information technology minister Debesh Das, who unveiled the Very Large Scale Integration and Nanotechnology Design Centre, said India should focus on developing hardware along with software to become self-reliant in the IT sector.
“We need to start fabrication centres, high-investment areas where no industries are willing to venture. The governments of China, Singapore and Taiwan are investing in hardware,” Das said at the programme on the Shibpur campus.
Besu, he said, has been given the responsibility of designing computer chips in the new centre, which the state IT department has sponsored at a cost of Rs 1.64 crore.
“Next comes the fabrication of prototypes and actual testing of the chips. We have earmarked a 30-cottah plot in New Town for a prototype design centre and are talking to industry for collaboration.”
The government needs to develop a “concrete” hardware policy and attract “quality companies” to make the state a viable IT hardware destination, the minister said.
“There has to be more work done on semi-conductors, both in analog and digital signal designs. Private sector participation is crucial as it will add value to the government initiatives in the field.”
The Besu design centre is the first industry-academia initiative in this part of the country. Five firms are participating in the venture.
“Four of them — Synopsys India, Sankalp Semiconductors India, Metalogic Systems and i2i — are based in Bangalore,” said vice-chancellor Ajoy Kumar Ray.
The centre, Ray said, will create silicon-based design enterprises, value-added jobs and services, facilitate transfer of technology, convert R&D outcome into commercial outputs and help in fabrication of “very large scale integration” chips.
Besu’s second campus will come up in Rajarhat across 11 acres. “The campus will have a Green Energy and Photo-voltaic Centre and a homeopathy research centre, the first of its kind in the country,” Ray said.
Source:http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110204/jsp/calcutta/story_13531697.jsp
