India can lead in advanced chip design, says Ashwini Vaishnaw as Qualcomm reveals 2nm chip
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India’s semiconductor ambitions took a decisive step forward today as Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw unveiled a two-nanometre chip designed by Qualcomm in India, calling it a marker of how global firms are now trusting the country with the most advanced semiconductor work.
Speaking at a press conference, Vaishnaw said the breakthrough places India firmly in the league of countries working on cutting-edge chip design, alongside companies such as AMD that have already showcased similar capabilities. “Today, we unveiled the two nanometre wafer, two nanometre chip at Qualcomm. This is part of a series of developments where companies are now designing in the country for our industry,” he said.
The minister underlined that each chip packs extraordinary computing power, with about 20–30 billion transistors per die. “One die has about 20 billion transistors. That kind of density allows a GPU and a CPU to sit within this small chip,” Vaishnaw said, holding up the wafer. He added that the final module can function as an AI computer across devices - from desktops and cameras to routers, automobiles, trains and aircraft - highlighting its relevance for edge computing and AI-led applications.
Talent pipeline, AI push and Semicon 2.0
Vaishnaw credited India’s growing semiconductor talent pool for making such advanced work possible. Under the Semicon 1.0 mission, the government had set a target of training 85,000 semiconductor professionals over 10 years. “Within four years, we have already trained 67,000 semiconductor engineers,” he said.
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These programmes now span 315 universities and colleges, where students have access to electronic design automation tools and are actively designing chips. “They are taping them out at the Semiconductor Lab in Mohali and getting the final product validated. Not many countries in the world have this kind of model,” Vaishnaw noted.
He said global industry leaders see India as central to closing the estimated one-million-person global talent gap in semiconductors. “They believe that gap will practically be filled mostly from India,” he said.
The minister also linked the momentum to broader policy reforms announced in the recent Union Budget, including simplifications for the IT services industry, clarity on safe harbour norms and easier approvals. “The industry would like to come in a big way into India. Whatever progress we have seen in the last few years will now get accelerated,” he said.
Vaishnaw confirmed that the government is preparing to roll out Semicon 2.0 in the coming months, with design as the top priority, followed by equipment, materials, deeper talent capabilities, and more fabs and ATMP units. The mission will also chart India’s progression from the current 28-nanometre manufacturing node towards seven nanometres.
He also said, “Data centres are going to be a major growth journey in the coming years. So far, we have committed 70 billion dollars in investments. If we add the other announcements, the total is about 90 billion dollars. I expect this number to exceed 200 billion dollars in the coming months.”
Calling semiconductors a long-term national project, Vaishnaw said, “This is a multi-decade journey. The Prime Minister has said we need a 20-year roadmap so that the country keeps developing in this industry.”