A small chip is today deciding the direction of the technology of the entire world. From mobiles, cars, AI, electric vehicles to everyday electronic goods, its need is increasing everywhere. This is the reason why India no longer wants to remain just a chip-using market, but is also moving forward rapidly in the race of making and designing chips. Seeing this opportunity, Indian and foreign companies are investing billions of rupees in India.
With the growth of the semiconductor sector, new career and business opportunities are being created not only for big companies but also for the youth and Gen Z. Demand may increase in the coming times in areas like chip design, AI, electronics, manufacturing and EV technology. The activity seen at SEMICON India 2026 is a glimpse of this changing picture.
SEMICON India 2026 begins
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated SEMICON India 2026 at Yashobhoomi in New Delhi on Thursday. Companies, investors, startups, researchers and students from semiconductor and electronics sectors are participating in this three-day program running from 17 to 19 September. It includes more than 600 companies and representatives of more than 50 countries. This time its theme has been kept ‘Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem’.
India’s complete plan to manufacture semiconductors is being shown in this event. Now the focus is not just on setting up a chip manufacturing factory. The government is emphasizing on creating a complete ecosystem starting from chip design, manufacturing, packaging, machines, necessary equipment and skilled employees. A provision of Rs 1.27 lakh crore has been made under Semicon 2.0.
Big change in electronics manufacturing
Electronics manufacturing in India has grown rapidly in the last decade. According to government data, the production of electronics in the country in 2014-15 was around Rs 1.9 lakh crore. It will increase to Rs 13.11 lakh crore in 2025-26.
There has also been a big change in mobile phone manufacturing. Now more than 99% of mobile phones used in India are made in the country itself. Earlier, India was quite dependent on other countries for mobile phones, but now mobiles are being manufactured on a large scale in the country and their export has also increased.
Investment of Rs 1.64 lakh crore
So far, 12 projects have been approved under the Semicon India Program to expand the semiconductor industry in India. There is a plan to invest more than Rs 1.64 lakh crore in these projects.
Some of these projects include chip manufacturing as well as their packaging and testing facilities. Micron, Kaynes and CG Semi have started commercial production in India. This means that some projects in the semiconductor sector are no longer just at the construction or planning stage, but production has already started.
The government has made a provision of Rs 1.27 lakh crore for the second phase of the semiconductor sector i.e. Semicon 2.0. Its objective is to strengthen the entire value chain from chip design to manufacturing and advanced packaging.
Not just chip factory, focus on design also
Just setting up a factory is not enough for the semiconductor industry. Before preparing a chip, its design has to be made. For this, special software, engineers, testing systems, machines and many types of materials are required.
In this direction, the government is also supporting startups, MSMEs and educational institutions. According to the government, 24 semiconductor design projects have received approval for financial assistance. This will provide new job opportunities to Gen Z. Whereas 105 startups and MSMEs have been given access to EDA i.e. Electronic Design Automation tools. With the help of these tools the chip is designed and tested.
Demand for chips will increase due to AI and electric vehicles
With the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence i.e. AI, the need for semiconductors may increase further. AI systems require more powerful computing and special types of chips. In such a situation, on one hand India is working on increasing AI infrastructure, while on the other hand it is trying to prepare the necessary chip and electronics ecosystem.
An example of this was seen in SEMICON India 2026. Darshan Kumar Pandit, founder of Synchronous Drives & Inverters Private Limited, said that his company is working on hardware, software, semiconductor and AI technology for electric vehicles in India. The company displayed the prototype of electric vehicle semiconductor chip being developed at IIT Delhi and SVNIT Surat in the program.
Foreign companies also keep an eye on India
Foreign companies are also seeing opportunities in India’s growing semiconductor market. Patrick Zube of KoCoS Technologies told that this German company has a subsidiary in India and for the first time it has participated in the session related to semiconductor sector in India.
He said that the company wants to connect with new customers in India and become a part of the rapidly growing Indian semiconductor market. Zube expressed optimism about the Indian market and said that in his opinion, India can become the ‘new Taiwan’ in the future. It is clear from SEMICON India 2026 that India’s semiconductor focus is no longer limited to just making chips. Efforts are being made to create a big ecosystem by connecting many areas like design, manufacturing, packaging, AI, electric vehicles and electronics.
