India's chip push: Modi's semiconductor roadmap, explained
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said India has begun production at three semiconductor plants, with five to eight more expected to come up over the next eight years. Addressing the nation from the Red Fort on the 80th Independence Day, Modi said India had discussed semiconductor manufacturing for years but lacked large-scale production facilities. Production has now begun at three plants, with exports also underway, he said.
Modi linked the semiconductor push with India's technological self-reliance and the broader objective of building an Atmanirbhar Bharat.
India's efforts to develop a domestic semiconductor industry predate the Semicon India Programme. The government introduced the Special Incentive Package Scheme (SIPS) in 2007 to encourage investment in semiconductor fabrication and other micro- and nano-technology manufacturing industries. In 2012, it introduced the Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) to promote large-scale manufacturing in the Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sector.
The National Policy on Electronics (NPE) 2019 subsequently sought to position India as a global hub for ESDM by encouraging capabilities to develop core components, including chipsets. A major push came in December 2021, when the Union Cabinet approved the Semicon India Programme with an outlay of Rs. 76,000 crore to develop a sustainable semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem. The programme was implemented through the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM).
After the 2021 programme, the government began approving specific semiconductor manufacturing projects.
In June 2023, the government approved Micron's semiconductor assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP) facility in Sanand, Gujarat, with a capital investment of Rs. 22,516 crore.
In February 2024, three more semiconductor units were approved: a semiconductor fabrication facility by Tata Electronics in partnership with Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation in Dholera, Gujarat; a semiconductor assembly and testing facility by Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test in Morigaon, Assam; and a facility by CG Power in partnership with Renesas Electronics and Stars Microelectronics in Sanand, Gujarat.
What Modi said about semiconductors in 2025
In 2025, Modi repeatedly highlighted India's semiconductor programme.
By May 2025, the government said six semiconductor projects had been approved, with five units in advanced stages of construction. The sixth was the HCL-Foxconn
project near Jewar in Uttar Pradesh, which will manufacture display-driver chips for devices including mobile phones, laptops and automobiles.
Then, in August 2025, four additional projects were approved in Odisha, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh under India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) taking the number of approved projects to 10 at that point. The four projects involved SiCSem, CDIL, 3D Glass Solutions and ASIP Technologies.
Three semiconductor plants now in commercial production
The government's semiconductor programme has moved from project approvals to commercial production. As of July 2026, three of the 12 semiconductor manufacturing projects approved by the government had begun commercial production: Micron, Kaynes Semicon and CG Semi. The 12 approved projects involve a cumulative investment of more than Rs. 1.64 lakh crore.
The government has also focused on developing the skilled workforce needed for India's semiconductor sector. On February 18, 2023, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) launched the curriculum designed for B.Tech in Electronics VLSI Design & Technology and a Diploma in Integrated Circuit (IC) Manufacturing.
India's existing strength: design and R&D
India's semiconductor ambitions are not starting from zero. The government says India has nearly 20% of the world's semiconductor design talent and has been strengthening its semiconductor design ecosystem alongside manufacturing. Under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme, 24 semiconductor design projects have received financial support, while 105 startups and MSMEs have been granted access to Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools, according to the government reports.
The challenge now is to expand that strength into manufacturing. With three plants already in commercial production and five to eight more expected over the next seven to eight years, Modi's latest announcement puts the expansion of India's semiconductor manufacturing capacity at the centre of his technology and self-reliance agenda.
