• Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the first set of ‘Made in India’ chips from Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw at the Semicon India 2025 event in New Delhi on September 2.

• PM Modi inaugurated Semicon India 2025, aimed at catalysing India’s Semiconductor ecosystem.

• Vaishnaw presented the Vikram 32-bit processor and other test chips from four approved projects to PM Modi during the event. 

• Vikram is India’s first fully indigenous 32-bit microprocessor certified for use in the extreme conditions of launch vehicles. 

• It is developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Semiconductor Laboratory.

• PM Modi recalled that in 2021, the Semicon India programme was launched. 

• By 2023, India’s first semiconductor plant was approved. In 2024, several more plants received approvals and in 2025, five additional projects were cleared. 

• In total, 10 semiconductor projects are now underway, involving an investment of over $18 billion.

• Building on the success of the India Semiconductor Mission, the government is also preparing to launch ISM 2.0, which will broaden support for fabrication plants, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT)  units, capital equipment, and materials to cover the entire semiconductor value chain.

• The Union Minister stated that exports will be an integral part of the 10  approved projects, ensuring that chips made in India will serve both domestic and global markets.

Importance of semiconductors

• Semiconductor is a foundational industry touching almost every aspect of life, powering everything from fridges to ACs and cars, aircraft to trains.

• Semiconductor chips are the essential building blocks of digital and digitised products. From smartphones and cars, through critical applications and infrastructures for healthcare, energy, communications and industrial automation, chips are central to the modern digital economy. 

• Recent global semiconductors shortages forced factory closures in a wide range of sectors from cars to health care devices. In the car sector, for example, production in some European countries decreased by one-third in 2021. This made more evident the extreme global dependency of the semiconductor value chain on a very limited number of actors in a complex geopolitical context.

• By 2030, the global semiconductor industry is expected to grow to $1 trillion.

• The Indian semiconductor market, worth $15 billion in 2020, is estimated to reach $63 billion by 2026.

• India currently imports most of its semiconductors, but the government wants to change that through domestic manufacturing. 

India Semiconductor Mission

• The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) aims to build a strong semiconductor and display ecosystem, positioning India as a global hub for electronics manufacturing and design, while serving as the nodal agency for the efficient and seamless implementation of semiconductor and display schemes.

• Its aim is to enhance semiconductor design and manufacturing capabilities within the country, fostering innovation, employment, and economic growth.

• The development of the semiconductor ecosystem in India will substantially increase domestic value addition in electronics manufacturing, reduce import dependency and integrate India electronics manufacturing ecosystem with global supply chains. 

Objectives of India Semiconductor Mission:

i) Develop a strong semiconductor ecosystem in India.

ii) Encourage indigenous semiconductor design and manufacturing.

iii) Foster collaboration between industry, academia, and research institutions.

iv) Promote skill development and talent acquisition in the semiconductor field.

v) Attract investments and drive innovation in semiconductor technologies.

Focus areas of ISM:

i) Integrated Circuit (IC) design and manufacturing.

ii) Semiconductor packaging and assembly.

iii) Testing and validation of semiconductor devices.

iv) Advanced materials and process technologies.

v) Design automation and tool development.

vi) Skill development and human resource capacity building.

Semicon India Programme with an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore

• In December 2021, a comprehensive programme for the development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in India was approved by the government with an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore. 

• The Modified Programme for Semiconductors and Display Fab Ecosystem (also known as Semicon India Programme) includes various schemes to attract investments in the field of semiconductors and display manufacturing.

• Semicon India Programme was conceived following the success of Digital India Programme and Make in India Programme in electronics manufacturing sector. 

• The schemes have laid a strong foundation for the Semicon India Programme thereby making the country an internationally conducive and competitive destination for semiconductor and display manufacturing.