Dec. 19, 2025 –
The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), under the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has launched an indigenously built 1.0 GHz, 64-bit dual-core microprocessor called DHRUV64.
Positioned as a general-purpose processor for strategic and commercial use, the microprocessor was developed under MeitY’s Microprocessor Development Programme to support domestic system design without reliance on imported processor IP.
India consumes an estimated 20% of global microprocessor output, most of which is imported or designed outside the country, as per statistics released by the MeitY. The launch reflects a broader policy push to build local capability in advanced chip design and adds a new entry to India’s portfolio of indigenous processors.
DHRUV64 is a 64-bit, dual-core RISC-V SoC aimed at compute-intensive embedded systems rather than consumer or mobile devices. It is presented as India’s first indigenous 64-bit multicore processor under the DIR-V (Digital India RISC-V) program led by C-DAC. It is also the third processor to reach fabrication, taped out on a 28-nm process node in Taiwan under the DIR-V program. THEJAS32 was fabricated at Silterra in Malaysia, while THEJAS64 was manufactured at the Semiconductor Laboratory in Mohali.
In an exclusive interview with EE Times, Libin T.T., scientist F at C-DAC based in Thiruvananthapuram (or Trivandrum), Kerala, said that DHRUV64 was conceived as a deliberate intermediate step rather than a technological leap. He described the processor as part of a transition from low-frequency microcontrollers to application-class processors operating in the gigahertz range.