News: DHRUV64 was launched as India’s first homegrown 1.0 GHz, 64-bit dual-core microprocessor, marking a key milestone in indigenous semiconductor development.
About DHRUV64
- DHRUV64 is India’s first homegrown 1.0 GHz, 64-bit dual-core microprocessor, strengthens the indigenous processor pipeline.
- Developer : It has been created by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) under the Microprocessor Development Programme (MDP) of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
- Supported by: It is also powered and supported by programmes including Digital India RISC-V (DIR-V), Chips to Startup (C2S), India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), Design Linked Incentive (DLI), and Indian Nanoelectronics Users Programme- idea to innovation (INUP-i2i).
- Architecture:: It is based on the open-source RISC-V (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture, which allows design flexibility without paying foreign license fees.
- Strategic Goal: It aims to achieve Atmanirbhar Bharat in the semiconductor sector by reducing dependence on imported chips, as India currently consumes about 20% of global microprocessors.
- Applications: It is designed for use in 5G infrastructure, automotive systems, the Internet of Things (IoT), industrial automation, and strategic defence equipment.
- It is builds on earlier indigenous efforts such as SHAKTI (IIT Madras), AJIT (IIT Bombay), VIKRAM (ISRO–SCL) and THEJAS64 (C-DAC).
- Significance: It is the third major chip fabricated under the Digital India RISC-V (DIR-V) programme,
- The first chip, THEJAS32, fabricated at the Silterra facility in Malaysia.
- The second chip, THEJAS64, manufactured domestically at Semiconductor Lab (SCL) Mohali.
- Next projects: After DHRUV64 success, the next-generation Dhanush and Dhanush+ processors are now under development.
