New Delhi: India’s semiconductor industry is going through a big shift as the government moves ahead with its plan to make advanced 5-7 nanometre chips. This is part of a larger mission to strengthen India’s position in global technology manufacturing and reduce dependence on imports.
Government Push and Vision
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has made it clear that India doesn’t just want to stay at the 28-nanometre stage. The new target is to set up facilities that can produce advanced 5-7nm chips in the coming years. According to officials, this is not just about business, it’s about catching up with global chip leaders and making India a reliable part of the world’s tech supply chain.
In the early phase, India focused on assembly and packaging units, with companies like Tata setting up plants in Gujarat, Assam, and Odisha. But the new phase is about taking the leap into real chip manufacturing.
Building India’s Chip Factories
The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), launched in 2021, has quickly moved from a vision to real factories. Recently, a milestone was achieved in Sanand, Gujarat, with the launch of one of India’s first Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) pilot lines by CG-Semi. This facility is expected to roll out the first “Made in India” chip soon.
Strong Incentives Backing the Sector
The government’s ₹76,000 crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme has been a big game-changer. Already, commitments worth around ₹65,000 crore have been made to boost this sector. Unlike earlier policies that often lost steam, this time the financial push seems stronger, signalling that semiconductors are now a long-term priority for India.
While chip factories are crucial, the real future lies in chip design and technology innovation. That’s where the government’s Semicon 2.0 plan comes in. The focus here is to build India’s strength in chip design, especially for AI chips and GPUs. With artificial intelligence becoming the backbone of sectors like healthcare, defence, transport, and communications, having indigenous chip design capabilities could be India’s real game-changer.
Chips are no longer just about powering your phone or laptop, they are the core of modern economies and even national security. India’s semiconductor push is not only about creating jobs or boosting exports, but also about ensuring the country is not left vulnerable in times of global supply chain crises.
