India Semiconductor Mission

India has taken a bold step in the semiconductor space. The government is building a robust ecosystem including a skilled workforce of 85,000 professionals in training. By offering 50% financial support for semiconductor facilities, the plan is to attract Rs 1.5 trillion in investments. Initiatives like The Semicon India Program and the Indian Semiconductor Mission are designed to support the entire supply chain. A new Semiconductor Research Center, backed by an INR 1 trillion fund, will drive next-gen chip technology. Additionally, through initiatives like the Critical Mineral Mission and Silicon Diplomacy, India is securing key resources and strengthening partnerships with Japan, Singapore, and the U.S.

As someone involved in AI, I feel that I should discuss/just simply touch the symbiotic relationship between AI and semiconductors. We all are witnessing the complexity of AI models, particularly deep neural networks, and increasing demand for specialized semiconductor architectures such as AI accelerators (e.g., GPUs) and custom AI chips (e.g., TPUs, Neural Engines). Along with this increased demand, there is a need to address several technical challenges like power consumption, thermal management, memory bandwidth, and heterogeneous computing integration, which are also important for more energy-efficient, real-time applications across edge and cloud environments. Addressing these by chip players is important to ensure seamless scalability across industries.

Although the initial scope and focus are simple and narrow, India should also strategically plan (it may be in the plan, I need to find out) for something advance for e.g, 3D chip stacking to meet the growing demand for AI-optimized chips. I can discuss quantum computing, neuromorphic chips, and others, but not relevant at this stage. Also, high yields and minimizing defects in manufacturing are a challenge, particularly if you think of it at the nanometer scale.

What’s clear is that India is demonstrating the will to meet its internal demand and position itself in global supply chains. It’s a strategic leap for global technological independence. The aim to grow its electronics sector to $500 billion by 2030 and create 6 million jobs reflects a vision integrating economic growth with technological sovereignty.

In the words of PM Modi, “When the chips are down, you can bet on India.”