Vikram-32 debuts at Semicon 2025: India’s leap into Make-in-India space processors

While the earlier chip marked India’s first steps into homegrown space-grade computing, the new 32-bit processor is more advanced, boasting a custom instruction set architecture, floating-point computation, and support for high-level languages like Ada.

Image source: ISRO

Uniquely, all associated software tools, including compilers, assemblers, linkers, and simulators, have been developed entirely in-house by ISRO. Furthermore, work is also underway on a C compiler, expanding flexibility for applications beyond aerospace.

The chip’s fabrication and packaging took place at SCL’s 180nm CMOS facility in Punjab, making it a truly “Make-in-India” space-grade processor.

Unlike commercial off-the-shelf chips, VIKRAM3201 is designed to withstand extreme temperatures, radiation, and vibrations -- conditions typical of rocket launches and long-duration space missions. Its architecture also ensures high reliability, enabling it to process 32 bits of data at a time, manage large memory blocks, and execute complex guidance and navigation commands critical for satellites and launch vehicles.

This capability not only strengthens India’s space program but also opens up possibilities for its use in defense, aerospace, automotive, and energy systems, all sectors that demand rugged, high-reliability computing.

Additionally, alongside Vikram, ISRO has also developed Kalpana-3201, a 32-bit SPARC V8 RISC microprocessor, broadening India’s indigenous processor portfolio.

Technical edge of Vikram-32

The VIKRAM3201, unlike commercial processors, is built for mission-critical reliability.

It features:
>> A custom Instruction Set Architecture (ISA)
>> Floating-point computation capabilities
>> High-level language support for Ada, widely used in aerospace systems
>> In-house developed tools, including an Ada compiler, assembler, linker, simulator, and IDE

Moreover, the chip’s resilience and flexibility position it not just for ISRO’s navigation, guidance, and control systems but also for defence avionics, automotive electronics, and energy infrastructure.

Also to be mentioned here, the Vikram-32’s debut aligns with the Centre's broader efforts to establish the nation as a global semiconductor hub.

On August 28, the country launched its first end-to-end Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) pilot facility in Gujarat's Sanand, with CG-Semi expected to roll out the first “Made-in-India” commercial chip soon.

Other design innovators like Vervesemi Microelectronics are creating chips tailored for defense, aerospace, and EVs, demonstrating India’s rise as not only a consumer but a creator of advanced semiconductors.

Notably, the Vikram-32’s roll-out comes less than four years after the Centre launched the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) in 2021, signaling a rapid turnaround from consumer dependence to indigenous innovation.

Backed by a Rs 76,000 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, of which nearly Rs 65,000 crore has already been committed, India has transformed from vision to execution in record time.

The progress was on display at Semicon India 2025, India’s largest semiconductor exhibition to date, featuring 350 companies from 33 countries and jointly organized by ISM under MeitY and SEMI, the global semiconductor industry association.