The government today notified the Semicon 2.0 scheme with an outlay of 1.27 lakh crore rupees to boost the chip manufacturing ecosystem in the country. With this, India could account for nearly 10% of the global semiconductor industry market in the coming years and is expected to play a much bigger role in the global semiconductor value chain. Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said this while addressing the media in New Delhi today. He highlighted that the country has achieved its target of developing 85 thousand semiconductor engineers in four years against the 10-year target and has now set a new target of developing one lakh more engineers. The Union Minister also highlighted that the focus of the Government is towards making the country firmly embedded in the global semiconductor value chain, from wafer fabrication to chip production.
During the event, Mr. Vaishnaw noted that there is confidence among global semiconductor industry stakeholders that India is the right destination for major investments in the coming decades. The Minister underlined that the speed at which projects have moved from approval to ground-breaking and then to commercial production in Semicon 1.0 has been particularly noted by the industry. Mr. Vaishnaw further said that India’s talent pool, policy certainty and ease of working have contributed to the industry’s growing interest in making India a base for semiconductor manufacturing and design.
Mr Vaishnaw added the country’s objective is to become an indispensable part of the global semiconductor supply chain, with global industries increasingly depending on India for production and design. He emphasized that developing the entire ecosystem in the country will be foundational for sustained growth of India’s semiconductor industry over the next 50 years. The Union Minister underlined that Students from Tier-II and Tier-III cities have already designed more than 250 chips. He noted that in one case, commercial production commenced within just 13 months of the groundbreaking, while approvals were granted within 200 days, 150 days and even 90 days in multiple cases. The Minister further emphasized that the semiconductor ecosystem being developed in India is also expected to create 50 thousand to 60 thousand direct jobs.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said that the scheme builds on the momentum generated by the first Semicon India Programme and provides fiscal and infrastructure support across the semiconductor value chain from chip design, fabrication and packaging to equipment, materials, research and development, and talent development. It aims to strengthen India’s economic growth and national security by improving semiconductor supply-chain resilience and establishing technological leadership in critical sectors. It will operate through six pillars covering 10 categories. The Ministry further added that Projects supported under Semicon 2.0 will generally have a duration of up to six years, while the scheme will initially remain open for applications for three years.
The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) will be the nodal agency for Semicon 2.0. It will invite applications, undertake technical and financial appraisal, recommend applicants and oversee implementation. ISM may implement the design and deployment categories with the assistance of C-DAC. The mission may also announce semiconductor deep-tech awards from 2026 to promote niche innovation.
