India Expands Chip Design Push Under Semicon 2.0
India will support domestic semiconductor intellectual property, chip and systems design as it seeks a larger role in the global semiconductor industry.
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Image Credit- Chetan Jha/ MIT Sloan Management Review India
India will expand support for domestic chip design under its ₹1,27,500 crore, or about $13.2 billion, Semicon 2.0 program approved by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.
The government wants Indian startups and small businesses to develop more semiconductor intellectual property, chip designs and systems for commercial and strategic applications.
“The work under Semicon 2.0 will place India as a key semiconductor chip design IP country,” the government said in its Cabinet announcement.
The program builds on the first phase of the India Semiconductor Mission, under which 24 design projects from startups and micro, small and medium enterprises received financial support. Another 105 companies received access to industry-standard electronic design automation tools used to develop and test chips.
These businesses are designing chips and systems-on-a-chip for artificial intelligence, telecommunications, satellite communications, drones, surveillance cameras, Internet of Things devices, LED drivers and smart meters.
The projects are at various stages of development and will move towards deployment after successful prototyping, according to the government.
Semicon 2.0 will seek to deepen this design ecosystem by supporting intellectual property and chip and systems development. The government said it had also identified technological building blocks required for strategic and commercial products.
Talent development will support that effort. The government said 315 universities were training students in chip design using electronic design automation tools and had trained about 68,000 students. The new program will deepen college-level training and involve industry more closely in developing semiconductor skills.
The design push forms part of a broader attempt to build more of the semiconductor supply chain within India. Semicon 2.0 will also offer incentives for companies developing chipmaking equipment and producing specialty chemicals, gases and other manufacturing materials.
It will seek additional investment in silicon, compound-semiconductor, discrete-component and display fabrication plants, along with chip assembly and testing facilities. India’s first commercial semiconductor fab is scheduled to be commissioned in 2028.
Under the first phase of the mission, the government approved 12 manufacturing projects involving more than ₹1.64 trillion of investment. They include one silicon fab, one silicon-carbide fab, an integrated gallium-nitride and MicroLED display facility, and nine packaging plants.
Micron, Kaynes Semicon and CG Semi have begun commercial production, while another approved facility is expected to start production in 2026, the government said.
