Govt notifies Rs 1.27 lakh crore Semicon 2.0 scheme to boost chip ecosystem

The government has notified the Semicon 2.0 scheme with an outlay of Rs 1.27 lakh crore aimed at strengthening India's semiconductor design and manufacturing ecosystem.

The scheme has been structured across six segments covering areas such as chip design by Indian companies, manufacturing of capital equipment required for semiconductor production, semiconductor fabrication units, and chip assembly, packaging and testing.

"The government has decided to provide ... sustained policy support to the semiconductor sector in India by notifying the Semicon 2.0 Scheme for the development of semiconductor design and manufacturing ecosystem in India," the government said in the notification.

Semicon 2.0 will provide fiscal support across various segments of the semiconductor value chain, from chip design, fabrication and packaging to other areas of the semiconductor ecosystem.

"Semicon 2.0 provides fiscal support to various verticals across the complete value chain of the semiconductor industry, ranging from chip design, fabrication and packaging to various segments of the semiconductor ecosystem," the notification said.

The scheme aims to develop resilient, trusted and sovereign semiconductor technologies by focusing on the design, development and deployment of technologies in identified target segments for national strategic and critical infrastructure.

It will also promote the domestic development of semiconductor Intellectual Property (IP) cores, chips, System-on-Chips (SoCs) and modules for electronic products.

The target products and technologies will be identified from time to time based on their national importance and strategic priorities, the government said.

"To achieve this, building blocks will be developed, including standard IPs for various types of Compute, Memory, RF, Power, Networking, Sensors, etc.," the notification said.