Bengaluru, Oct 13 The upcoming Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave-2026 will focus on boosting indigenous semiconductor development and strengthening India’s domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities, officials said on Tuesday.
Ahead of the conclave, scheduled to be held from October 27 to 29 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, the Defence Research and Development Organisation organised a curtain-raiser event here to promote awareness and engagement among industry, academia and research institutions, they said.
At the event, DRDO Scientist and Director General (Electronics and Communication Systems) B K Das underscored the importance of semiconductors and next-generation chips for economic competitiveness, digital sovereignty and national security.
He stressed that building a resilient, end-to-end microelectronics ecosystem was essential to powering telecommunications, automotive systems, industrial automation, artificial intelligence hardware and strategic defence platforms as India advances towards Viksit Bharat.
“If we want to be prepared for future warfare, every system must be designed in India, developed in India and delivered in India. To achieve that, complete indigenisation, including the last mile, is essential. Semiconductors are one of the fundamental building blocks of this entire ecosystem,” he said.
Advanced technologies would play a major role in shaping the future of warfare and semiconductor chip design, Das said.
“Today, we are looking at areas such as asymmetric warfare, drone attacks, advanced ammunition, missile systems, counter-drone technologies and cyber warfare. Everywhere, the ideas and intelligence of our young generation are shaping the future of warfare,” he said.
Das added that strengthening domestic capabilities was critical to protecting the national economy from global supply-chain disruptions, geopolitical volatility and international technology export controls.
He underlined India’s ambition to emerge as a global semiconductor powerhouse, achieve strategic autonomy and expand high-value exports across the microelectronics value chain.
DRDO Scientist and Director General (Technology Management) Anupam Sharma highlighted the critical role of semiconductors in modern warfare, saying the technologies were integral to virtually every aspect of military operations.
He added that the semiconductor-related business segment was expected to grow to USD 200 billion by 2035.
According to a statement, ESTIC-2026 will bring together 12 scientific ministries and departments of the Union government under a whole-of-government approach.
Organised under the aegis of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, the conclave will feature 12 thematic sessions on emerging and futuristic technologies, the statement said.
The DRDO is coordinating the session on ‘Semiconductors and Next-Gen Chips’, which will bring together representatives from the semiconductor industry, academia, the indigenous chip-development ecosystem and the defence electronics sector.
Micron India Vice-President and Managing Director Anand Ramamoorthy will deliver the keynote address. Bharat Semi CEO Vrinda Kapoor, Netrasemi CEO Jyothis Indirabhai and IIT Madras Director Prof Kamakoti will also speak at the session, the statement said.
The discussions will cover semiconductor technologies, purpose-built artificial intelligence system-on-chips, intelligence at the silicon edge and developments in microprocessors.
A panel discussion moderated by DRDO Scientist and Director General (Electronics and Communication Systems) B K Das will feature representatives from the DRDO, Qualcomm, Tata Semiconductor, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Anant Systems and BITS Pilani.
India aims to emerge as a global semiconductor powerhouse by 2047, with short-term targets for 2030, medium-term goals for 2035 and long-term objectives for 2047, the statement said.
A DRDO thematic exhibition at the conclave will showcase indigenous capabilities in semiconductors and next-generation chips, along with technologies developed by its laboratories to meet critical defence and strategic requirements, it added.
(PTI News)
