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What’s New Today: Government-backed DLI projects show rapid progress in chip design, patents, tape-outs, and workforce growth across strategic sectors.
Fast-Track Insights: The government removes the three-year viability rule, allowing deep-tech startups earlier access to Rs 1 crore DSIR funding under IRDPP with maturity-based evaluation standards.
Here’s a quick rundown of the biggest tech headlines making waves today. Let's dive into the day's top tech stories, from government-backed DLI projects driving rapid chip design growth to India’s tech hiring slowing as job openings plunge.
India’s Design Linked Incentive scheme is driving strong momentum in domestic chip design. Twenty-four supported projects span strategic areas like surveillance, drones, energy metering, microprocessors, satellites, and IoT. Since 2021, companies have achieved 16 tape-outs, fabricated six chips, filed 10 patents, engaged over 1,000 engineers, and attracted over three times private investment, strengthening India’s self-reliant semiconductor ecosystem under the Semicon India Programme led by MeitY through government-backed design infrastructure support.
The Centre has relaxed funding norms for deep-tech startups under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. At DSIR’s 42nd foundation day, Minister Jitendra Singh announced the removal of the three-year viability requirement to access up to Rs 1 crore under the IRDPP. The change aims to help startups scale earlier while still requiring evaluations linked to technological maturity, offering faster momentum to young innovators and supporting early-stage research-driven entrepreneurial projects.
India’s technology job market has slowed sharply as hiring enters 2026 on a cautious note. Job openings fell 24% year-on-year to around 103,000 in January, near five-year lows. The decline follows months of weakening demand through 2025, as global tech spending softened. Companies are now hiring selectively for specialized roles, making job searches tougher for fresh graduates and experienced professionals alike.
AI translation devices are becoming essential travel companions in 2026, helping travelers overcome language barriers quickly and naturally. The latest gadgets provide support for 80+ languages, come with speedy speech translation, camera-based text reading, offline functionality, and long battery life. Portable translators are good for people who want to see the text, and for them, clarity is important; earbuds for translators allow users to have difficult conversations. The decision of which device is best for you will be based on how often you travel, the places you visit, and the basic communication needs you have.
Ethereum has achieved a significant milestone by developing a solution to the blockchain’s long-standing trilemma, which is the balancing act of decentralization, consensus, and high throughput. Vitalik Buterin highlighted the integration of zero-knowledge EVMs and PeerDAS technology, which drastically reduces proving times and boosts data verification efficiency. The roadmap stretches to 2030, progressively increasing gas limits and ZKEVM adoption. Ethereum's architecture continues to attract institutional adoption despite its complexity, with major banks looking into tokenization and Layer 2 solutions, hence marking a decade-long technological breakthrough.
