L&T Semiconductor Technologies (LTSCT), the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), and IIT Gandhinagar have entered into a strategic partnership to jointly develop a fully indigenous secure chip aimed at powering electronic passports and future digital identity solutions.

This collaboration signifies an important step toward India’s digital sovereignty by ensuring that the intellectual property (IP) associated with secure integrated circuits (ICs) remains entirely within the country, reducing dependence on foreign chipmakers in highly sensitive domains.

The secure IC solution under development is expected to serve as the backbone of e-passports, enhancing both security and trust in India’s digital infrastructure.

The tripartite alliance combines LTSCT’s semiconductor design and product delivery expertise, C-DAC’s government-led research and innovation capabilities, and IIT Gandhinagar’s academic and advanced research strength.

Together, the partners aim to create an indigenous design-to-deployment ecosystem covering chip design, cryptography, system integration, and commercialisation. The venture will be supported by dedicated investments from each stakeholder and will include the establishment of a specialised research centre to accelerate R&D.

Beyond e-passports, the initiative lays the groundwork for the development of next-generation indigenous cryptographic solutions and secure embedded products across critical sectors including defence, fintech, e-governance, and secure IoT applications.

According to LTSCT CEO Sandeep Kumar, the partnership is designed as more than a memorandum of understanding, serving instead as a “blueprint” for industry-academia-government collaboration in shaping India’s semiconductor future.

The project aligns closely with the Make in India initiative by ensuring the entire value chain—conceptualisation, design, and ownership—remains within India, setting a global benchmark for trusted and secure semiconductor products.

Timeline of Indigenous Secure Chip Development For E-Passports And Rollout

April 1, 2024

Launch of Passport Seva Program (PSP) Version 2.0 incorporating an e-passport pilot project. Early development of secure IC chips for electronic passports begins in research collaborations including government agencies like C-DAC and industry partners.

March 3, 2025

E-passport issuance begins in Tamil Nadu at Chennai Regional Passport Office, marking one of the first operational deployments of electronic passports embedded with secure chips. Over 20,000 e-passports issued in Tamil Nadu by late March, reflecting successful initial rollouts.

April–Mid 2025

Expansion phase where e-passports with embedded secure chips become available in 13+ cities nationwide, including Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Amritsar, and others. Concurrently, partnership announcement between L&T Semiconductor Technologies, C-DAC, and IIT Gandhinagar to develop fully indigenous secure chip ICs dedicated for these e-passports and future digital identity products.

Dedicated secure IC research centre establishment and investment commitments by all three partners to accelerate product development and deployment.

June 2025

Ministry of External Affairs publicly confirms rollout of Passport Seva Program 2.0 and e-passport availability nationwide in all 37 Passport Offices, 93 Passport Seva Kendras, and 450 Post Office Passport Seva Kendras. E-passports adhere to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) 9303 standards featuring encryption protocols like Basic Access Control (BAC), Passive Authentication (PA), and Extended Access Control (EAC) to secure biometric data.

August 2025 onward

Full-scale national rollout of e-passports continues with integration of enhanced security features, including next-generation cryptographic chip functions developed via the LTSCT, C-DAC, and IIT Gandhinagar collaboration.

Focus on establishing an indigenous chip and semiconductor ecosystem supporting digital sovereignty, removing foreign technology reliance for critical security applications.

Development roadmap extends beyond e-passports to secure IC solutions for broader embedded secure applications like defence, fintech, IoT, and government digital infrastructure.

Key Highlights

The partnership is positioned as a foundational project in India's Make in India semiconductor initiative, ensuring all IPs and chip design ownership remain within India.

The secure chip solution is a critical enabler for trusted digital identities and safer border management with biometrics, RFID technology, and cryptographic protections.

The research centre dedicated to secure IC chip R&D will accelerate innovation and scale indigenous product commercialization for both national and global markets.

The rollout of e-passports with embedded chips has already begun in selected states, with plans for universal availability in India within 2025.

This detailed combination of the secure chip collaborative development timeline alongside India's e-passport phased rollout reflects the strategic synergy between government R&D, academia, and industry to build India's technological future in digital identity and data security.

Based On A PTI Report