At Semicon India 2025, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw showcased ‘Vikram’, India’s first fully homegrown 32-bit microprocessor. Developed by ISRO, the chip is specially designed for launch vehicles operating under extreme environmental conditions. The Minister also presented test chips from four government-approved projects under the ‘Make in India’ initiative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Built for space missions The VIKRAM3201 microprocessor has been jointly developed by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM). It ensures reliable navigation and control functions during space missions, even when exposed to temperatures from -55°C to 125°C. Notably, it is backwards compatible with the VIKRAM1601, a chip used in ISRO’s launch vehicle avionics since 2009. Advanced capabilities The processor comes with a custom instruction set architecture and supports the Ada programming language, widely used in aviation and satellite systems for its safety and reliability. It also has floating-point computation abilities, making it crucial for: Open-source friendly ISRO confirmed that Vikram works with open-source software toolsets, while also offering a proprietary simulator and Integrated Development Environment (IDE). It has already been tested successfully with flight software, marking a big step towards India’s self-reliance in semiconductor technology. Apart from the Vikram 32-bit microprocessor, two other fabrication plants are also expected to release their chips in the coming months, according to the Union IT Minister.
