New Delhi, Feb 3 : The government on Saturday launched the 'Digital India FutureLABS' initiative that will enable partnerships between the government, startups and large enterprises to foster the next-generation electronics design ecosystem, thus catalysing the next wave of startups from the country.

Launching the initiative that aims to boost India's electronics and IT sector by establishing a research and innovation framework, promoting leadership in standards, IPs, systems and platforms, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said that India has been at the forefront of building technologies, intellectual properties and solutions for its citizens as well as for the world.

'Digital India FutureLABS is the last piece of a framework in an architecture that our Prime Minister Narendra Modi put together long back. That started way back in 2015 with 'Digital India' launch and many years of creating an enabling framework to make India a trusted hub for manufacturing electronics for the consumers of the world,' Chandrasekhar told the packed house at the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT)-Delhi here.

'Digital India FutureLABS' will be coordinated by C-DAC to provide the dedicated thrust to following key growth areas -- automotive, compute, communication, strategic electronics and Industrial electronics/IoT.

'Digital India FutureLABS' is the last important foundational block to position India as the world leader in technology and showcase Indian entrepreneurs' innovation skills, said the minister.

FutureLABS would help build high-performance, globally competitive systems that would be in addition to having the characteristics of being affordable, low cost and trusted.

The government also plans to soon establish the India Semiconductor Research Centre.

'Semiconductor research will also be something that India will focus on. And now we have 'Digital India FutureLABS' that will round off, in a sense, our ambition of making sure there is an Indian flag on almost every piece and slice of the technology innovation ecosystem in the coming decade,' the minister noted.

The 'Digital India FutureLABS' programme will also include tier 1 suppliers and automotive industrial platforms, focusing on designing and innovating systems for the future.

It focuses on strengthening the domestic innovation ecosystem through collaboration, driving sustainable growth and fostering technological progress.

/IANS