Semicon India 2.0 targets 200 chip design firms, 1 lakh technicians: Ashwini Vaishnaw

India is targeting at least 200 startups and companies in chip design under Semicon India 2.0, as the government moves beyond setting up semiconductor plants to building capabilities across equipment, materials, advanced packaging, research and skilled manpower.

Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, speaking at Semicon India 2026 on Thursday, said 105 startups had participated in Semicon India 1.0, with around 20 securing venture capital funding totalling nearly ₹800 crore. The target under the second phase marks an expansion of the design ecosystem as India seeks to build a larger domestic semiconductor base.

From 105 startups to 200 under Semicon 2.0

The first pillar of Semicon India 2.0 focuses on chip design, while the second covers semiconductor equipment and materials. Vaishnaw said a $5 billion investment in machines and materials was announced at the event, pointing to an effort to develop capabilities beyond fabrication and assembly.

The third pillar covers displays, memory, silicon, compound semiconductors and logic devices. Advanced packaging forms the fourth pillar, with Vaishnaw pointing to a 3D packaging facility coming up in Odisha.

The fifth pillar will focus on industry-academia collaboration in applied research, while the sixth targets talent development.

1 lakh technicians in next talent push

The first phase had targeted 85,000 semiconductor design engineers over 10 years; around 70,000 have been trained in four years, Vaishnaw said. Semicon India 2.0 will now target 1 lakh technicians, including clean-room and factory-floor talent.

“This will be fully driven by the industry and academia, absolutely working in harmony and in synchronisation,” Vaishnaw said on the R&D pillar, adding that the focus would be on applied research.

Vaishnaw has also said nearly 60,000 young engineers have been trained on specialised tools from Synopsys and Cadence, with participants drawn from 315 universities. Chips designed by these engineers are being manufactured in a laboratory in Chandigarh, he said.

Four plants expected in 2026, fab by 2028

The latest announcement comes a day after Vaishnaw outlined an accelerated manufacturing roadmap following the inauguration of Kaynes Semicon’s OSAT facility in Sanand, Gujarat.

“In 2026, four plants will be ready, and two plants in 2027. India’s first fabrication unit will be ready in Dholera by 2028,” Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.

He said the Sanand facility moved from foundation to commercial production in 14 months, while Micron’s facility was inaugurated on February 28. A third plant was scheduled for inauguration in July.

Vaishnaw said India needs to compete on “quality and cost” to establish a sustainable position in the global semiconductor industry. Global companies including Nvidia, AMD and Intel are undertaking advanced chip-design work in India, he said, including 2-nanometre chips.

Under Semicon 2.0, Vaishnaw said, the government wants machines, gases and chemicals needed by the industry to be available in India, while targeting a position among the top six semiconductor nations by 2032 and top three by 2047.