India is targeting a semiconductor ecosystem with at least five large manufacturers, three major materials companies, advanced packaging facilities and more than one lakh jobs as it seeks to establish itself as a global chipmaking hub, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
Speaking exclusively to India Today, Vaishnaw said the government’s focus is no longer limited to setting up semiconductor fabrication units. It is working to build the wider ecosystem, including materials, equipment, packaging, chip design and skilled manpower.
Looking ahead, the minister said one of the clearest markers of the programme’s success would be the emergence of five large manufacturing companies, three large materials manufacturers and at least two advanced packaging facilities.
He also expects the sector to generate more than one lakh jobs, both directly and indirectly.
India’s semiconductor ambitions have been discussed for decades, but previous efforts failed to establish a sustained manufacturing ecosystem. Vaishnaw said the government’s semiconductor programme, launched in 2021, was designed differently, with a long-term approach aimed at building the entire supply chain.
“When we started this journey, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told us not to take things for granted,” Vaishnaw said, recalling the approach adopted for the programme. The focus, he said, was on thinking of the semiconductor mission as a 20-year journey rather than seeking quick results.
The government subsequently mapped the ecosystem, including hundreds of chemicals and gases, equipment manufacturers and other suppliers needed to support semiconductor production.
“We worked in that process. We meticulously planned,” Vaishnaw said, explaining how officials reached out to potential suppliers and helped them identify partners and understand the Indian market.
India currently has capabilities around the 40nm technology node, but Vaishnaw said the country has set its sights on more advanced 7nm and 3nm technologies over the next eight years.
He acknowledged the difficulty of reaching advanced nodes, noting that countries that have developed such capabilities have taken decades to build their semiconductor ecosystems.
Vaishnaw said India’s progress in the past four years gives him confidence that the country can move towards these advanced technologies.
The minister, however, stressed that semiconductor manufacturing is not an easy industry and requires extremely high levels of precision and quality.
Vaishnaw said the government has deliberately avoided focusing only on chip fabrication. “The semiconductor ecosystem requires a wide range of inputs, including specialised chemicals, gases, equipment and materials. It also requires chip design capabilities, advanced packaging and a large pool of trained engineers,” Vaishnaw said.
According to Vaishnaw, India has already trained around 85,000 semiconductor engineers.
He said the government is also working with universities across the country to expand semiconductor education and give students practical exposure to the industry. The minister said the enthusiasm among students, including those from smaller cities and universities, has been one of the more encouraging aspects of the programme.
Vaishnaw also pointed to the growth of India’s semiconductor startup ecosystem.
He said the government initially expected limited venture capital interest in semiconductor and deep-tech startups because the sector requires substantial capital, specialised talent and long-term commitment. Instead, the programme has attracted around 30 venture capital firms and 205 startups, according to the minister.
The India Deep Tech Alliance has also expanded its network, with more companies expressing interest in joining the initiative. Vaishnaw said this growing ecosystem is important because semiconductor development cannot rely only on large manufacturing facilities.
The semiconductor push is also being linked to India’s broader electronics manufacturing ambitions.
India’s electronics manufacturing sector has grown rapidly, with mobile phones emerging as a major export category. Vaishnaw said the semiconductor industry could provide the foundation for further expansion because chips are used across automobiles, consumer electronics, mobile phones, trains, aircraft and other sectors.
He said the semiconductor ecosystem could comfortably generate more than one lakh direct and indirect jobs.
The government is also looking at a multiplier effect as semiconductor plants create demand for suppliers, materials companies, equipment makers and other ecosystem partners.
For Vaishnaw, the semiconductor mission will ultimately be judged by whether India develops a complete and commercially viable ecosystem.
His benchmark is clear: five large semiconductor manufacturers, three major materials manufacturers, two advanced packaging facilities and more than one lakh jobs.
The minister said the immediate task is to ensure that the foundation built over the past four years translates into sustained industrial capacity.
For an industry in which India has faced several false starts in the past, the next phase will be about moving from setting up the ecosystem to proving that it can operate at scale.