Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said India will become a frontrunner in the semiconductor industry. Addressing SEMICON India 2025, PM Modi said India offers stability and policy support, making it a lucrative investment destination for global semiconductor players.

“Of course, our journey began late but, nothing can stop us now. That day is not far when the world will say, 'Designed in India and Made in India',” said PM Modi.

Amid global headwinds, PM Modi consistently pointed out that growth, stability and policy support make India a lucrative investment opportunity for global semiconductor players. As world’s every 5th engineer is an Indian, he highlighted that the trillion dollar global semiconductor market will have India playing an integral role in the global supply chain.

He said that while once oil, often called black gold, was the world’s most vital resource. Today, it is semiconductors, the digital diamonds, that hold comparable importance.

During his address, he also shed light on the progress of the various projects approved under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM.)

“Kaynes’ pilot plant is set to begin operations soon. Test chip production has already started at TEPL and Micron, while CG SEMI has also commenced its pilot phase. Commercial chip production is expected to start later this year,” he said.

He shared that Noida and Bengaluru design centres are making the world’s most advanced chips with billions of transistors stored on them.

PM Modi also revealed that the second phase of ISM is also set to be announced soon. The first phase saw an outlay of ₹76,000 crore and was launched in 2021. Since then, the Centre has approved 10 projects directly involved in building either semicon fabs or developing OSAT facilities. Recently, on August 28, Union electronics minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated the first made-in-India pilot chips in Gujarat, developed by CG-SEMI.

PM Modi added that the country has evolved from a patent-only- to a full-stack nation in the semiconductor industry. He emphasised on the need to reduce paperwork to make India a more lucrative destination for investors.

“The lesser time file will take to becoming factory, the lesser paperwork remains, the quicker ‘Wafer-work’ will take,” he said.