Skyroot’s New Rocket Dream, India’s Semiconductor Leap and a Cloudy IT Outlook – Tech3 Round‑up

Welcome back to Tech3, where we try to make sense of the tech‑heavy headlines that keep rattling the market. This week’s episode is a mixed bag – a space startup dreaming big, a new government programme that may finally tip India over the semiconductor “psychological bridge”, a hesitant IT sector, and a quick‑commerce startup that’s trying to deliver pills instead of groceries.

First up, Skyroot Aerospace. After pulling off a landmark orbital launch that put a small satellite into a sun‑synchronous orbit, the Chennai‑based firm isn’t content to rest on its laurels. Its CEO hinted at a follow‑up mission that could involve a reusable launch vehicle – think of it as India’s answer to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, only smaller and built with a frugal‑engineering mindset. The idea is to turn the low‑cost, fast‑turnaround model that won them the launch into a regular service for commercial payloads. While the technical details are still under wraps, the company says it’s already testing a new stage‑separation system that could shave minutes off turnaround time.

On the policy front, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) secretary announced the rollout of ISM 2.0 – the second phase of the Integrated Supply‑Chain Management system. In his words, India has finally crossed the “psychological bridge” in semiconductors. What does that mean? Essentially, the government is moving from subsidies and incentives to creating a full‑blown ecosystem: domestic wafer fabs, design houses, testing labs, and a skilled workforce. The new programme will channel an extra ₹30,000 crore over the next five years, with a focus on advanced nodes (28 nm and below). Analysts say this could reduce our reliance on foreign chip imports, but they also warn that the real challenge will be building the talent pipeline fast enough.

Meanwhile, the Indian IT sector isn’t as upbeat. The big three – TCS, Infosys and Wipro – all reported a slowdown in Q2 order inflow. Executives cited lingering uncertainty in the US and Europe, where many of their largest clients are still trimming budgets. At the same time, AI‑driven services are gaining traction, but hiring remains cautious. “We’re seeing pockets of demand, especially in generative‑AI projects, but overall the pipeline looks foggy for the next two quarters,” a senior manager at a leading IT services firm told us.

Switching gears to quick commerce, investors are now looking beyond groceries. Plazza, a medicine‑delivery startup, just closed a fresh round of funding led by a venture‑capital firm that specialises in health‑tech. The company promises 30‑minute delivery of over‑the‑counter drugs in tier‑II and tier‑III cities, leveraging a network of local pharmacies and a proprietary logistics platform. With the pandemic still fresh in people’s minds, the demand for fast, contact‑less health supplies is growing, and Plazza hopes to ride that wave.

To sum it up: Skyroot aims for a reusable rocket, ISM 2.0 could finally give India a home‑grown chip ecosystem, the IT crowd is bracing for a muted Q2, and medicine‑delivery startups are getting the investor love that once went only to grocery‑focused players. As always, the tech landscape remains a blend of bold ambition and cautious reality – and we’ll be watching how each story unfolds.