DHRUV64

DHRUV64: India's Silicon Self-Reliance Milestone

Published January 16, 2026
DHRUV64: India's Silicon Self-Reliance Milestone

DHRUV64 MICROPROCESSOR

1. India's Leap Towards Semiconductor Self-Reliance

Background & Need:

  • India imports the majority of its semiconductor requirements despite being one of the world's largest electronics markets.
  • Global chip shortages and geopolitical risks have highlighted the vulnerability of relying on foreign processor IP.
  • Strategic sectors such as defence, telecom, and infrastructure require trusted, controllable, and long-term silicon availability.

What is DHRUV64?

  • DHRUV64 is a fully indigenous 64-bit, dual-core microprocessor designed and validated in India.
  • Developed by C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) under the Microprocessor Development Programme of MeitY.
  • Intended for strategic, industrial, and commercial embedded systems, not consumer smartphones.
  • Serves as a test silicon platform to validate India's end-to-end processor design capability.

2. Technical Capabilities and Key Features

  • Based on the open RISC-V RV64IMAFD (64G) instruction set, supporting integer, atomic, and floating-point operations.
  • Features a dual-core architecture utilizing custom VEGA AS2161 CPU cores.
  • Designed and fabricated as a 28 nm test silicon.
  • Targeted operating frequency is approximately 1.0 GHz.
  • Classified as an application-class embedded processor, not a microcontroller.
  • Incorporates on-chip SRAM with support for external DDR4 memory.
  • Successful booting of the Linux OS on silicon has demonstrated full application-class capability.

Scalability and Future Readiness:

  • The architecture is designed to scale to accommodate higher core counts and increased operating frequencies.
  • Serves as the foundation for forthcoming indigenous processors, including Dhanush and Dhanush+.
  • Ensures software and architectural continuity across future Indian Systems-on-Chip (SoCs).

3. Versatile Applications Across Sectors

Strategic Applications

  • Defence, Space & Government: Secure communications, weapon and mission-critical systems, and government-grade servers where reliability, data integrity, and security are critical.
  • Critical Infrastructure & Cybersecurity: Smart grids, rail signalling, utilities, and secure network appliances requiring long life cycles, trusted boot, and encrypted processing.

Commercial Applications

DHRUV64 is a promising, energy-efficient, low-power design making it a compelling server option capable of meeting future 64-bit computing demands.

  • 5G & Industrial Systems: DHRUV64 can be used in 5G core networks, routers, industrial controllers and factory automation systems that demand multitasking capabilities.
  • Automotive & Consumer Electronics: Applications include automotive electronics, smart home appliances, and wearables requiring 64-bit processing capabilities for next gen software stacks.

4. Building the Future: India's Processor Roadmap

The Strategic Roadmap: From DHRUV to DHANUSH

DHRUV64 is the bridge between early prototypes and high-end commercial processors, proving that indigenous Indian processor design is viable and ready to scale.

  • Foundational Phase: TSHAKTI (IIT Madras) and AJIT (IIT Bombay) established India's capability to design functional 32-bit and 64-bit processor cores.
  • Growth Phase (Current): DHRUV64 and THEJAS64 deliver performance suitable for applications such as 5G, industrial automation, and automotive systems.
  • Expansion Phase (Under Development): DHANUSH64 and DHANUSH64+ SoCs aim to integrate additional features, including high-speed I/O and improved power efficiency.
  • HPC Phase (Future): The roadmap targets octa-core processors by 2026, followed by 48–64 core processors for high-performance computing.

Contributors

P
P Sampat Ganesh
S
Syed Faizan Safdar
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