PM Modi inaugurates 5th edition of SEMICON India

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the fifth edition of SEMICON India in New Delhi.

• The theme of the three-day event is “Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem”.

• Hosted at Yashobhoomi, SEMICON India features over 600 exhibitors, including approximately 300 international participants, six country pavilions and 12 Indian state pavilions. 

• SEMICON India is country’s premier semiconductor conference and exhibition jointly organised by the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, and SEMI. 

• It serves as a flagship platform for bringing together the global semiconductor and electronics ecosystem to advance collaboration, innovation, manufacturing, investments and talent development, while supporting India's vision of becoming a trusted global hub for semiconductor and electronics manufacturing.

• SEMI is the global industry association connecting over 4,000 companies and 1.5 million professionals worldwide across the semiconductor and electronics design and manufacturing supply chain.

What is a semiconductor?

• A semiconductor is a material whose electrical conductivity can be controlled. 

• Conductors such as copper allow current to flow easily, while insulators strongly resist it. 

• Semiconductor materials can be engineered to switch, amplify, sense or control electrical signals. 

• A transistor is a microscopic electronic switch. Modern integrated circuits place millions or billions of transistors and other components on a small chip. 

• Their coordinated switching makes computing, communications, sensing, memory and power management possible.

• Most modern electronic devices depend on semiconductors. Smartphones, computers, medical equipment, automobiles, defence systems, satellites and data centres use semiconductor-based components. 

• In simple terms, semiconductors are the building blocks of modern electronics.

Manufacturing of semiconductors

• Silicon is the most widely used semiconductor material. 

• It is obtained from silica, which occurs abundantly in sand. Chip manufacturing begins with highly purified silicon, which is formed into cylindrical ingots. 

• These ingots are sliced into thin wafers and polished. Inside fabrication plants, wafers undergo hundreds of carefully controlled processes. These include deposition, photolithography, etching and ion implantation.

• During photolithography, patterns are transferred onto the wafer using light. 

• These patterns define structures that ultimately form transistors, interconnects and other parts of a chip. 

• Transistors are the microscopic electronic switches on the chip that control the flow of electrical current. 

• The process is repeated across multiple layers to build complex integrated circuits.

• Finished semiconductor devices then undergo Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) or Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) processes. 

• Packaging protects the chip and enables it to connect with other electronic components.

Importance of domestic manufacturing of semiconductors

• Semiconductors have emerged as a strategic resource for economic growth, technological leadership and national security. 

• Today, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, China and the United States dominate global semiconductor manufacturing. 

• Taiwan alone accounts for over 60 per cent of global chip production and nearly 90 per cent of advanced chips. 

• This concentration has highlighted the need for secure, diversified and resilient semiconductor supply chains. 

• For India, domestic semiconductor capabilities are more than an industrial opportunity. 

• They are essential for reducing import dependence, strengthening national security and creating high-value employment. 

• They can also deepen technological self-reliance and reduce vulnerabilities across strategic sectors. 

• No single country controls the complete semiconductor value chain. Different economies lead in chip design, fabrication, equipment, materials, memory and packaging. 

• This specialisation has improved efficiency, but it also creates concentration risk. 

• India’s semiconductor journey has evolved from building strategic capabilities to creating a broader domestic ecosystem. 

• Early institutions such as the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) laid the groundwork, while recent policy interventions have accelerated investment, innovation and talent development. 

• These efforts are positioning India to participate across the semiconductor value chain.

Semicon 1.0

• The government approved Semicon 1.0 in December 2021, with an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore. 

• It aimed to establish a domestic semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem. 

• The programme introduced dedicated schemes for setting up semiconductor fabs and display fabs.

• It also introduced the scheme for setting up compound semiconductors, silicon photonics, sensors and semiconductor ATMP/OSAT facilities. 

• Additionally, the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme strengthened India’s semiconductor design capabilities. 

• Together, these schemes established the foundation across chip design, fabrication, packaging and related technologies.

Semicon 2.0

• In July 2026, the Union Cabinet approved the Semicon 2.0 for the development of India’s semiconductor design and manufacturing ecosystem, with a total budget outlay of Rs 1,27,500 crore.

• It recognises the requirement for a sustained and long-term support to the  semiconductor sector in India and also to build on the momentum generated under Semicon 1.0.

• Semicon 1.0 concentrated mainly on fabs and ATMP/OSAT plants. 

• Semicon 2.0 adds machines and materials, design, research and talent to the mission. 

• Together, the two phases span the chain from raw materials to finished chips.

Semicon 2.0 rests on six pillars: 

i) Design

ii) Machines and materials

iii) Setting up new fabs

iv) Further strengthening the ATMP/OSAT industry

v) Research & Development

vi) Talent development.

• Its purpose is to build the complete chip value chain within the country, and not merely its closing stages. 

• This effort carries India towards supply chain resilience, strategic autonomy and high-value employment in a technology that now underpins every modern industry.