Four chip firms to start commercial production in 2026 as India eyes semiconductor leadership

India will be among the top four semiconductor manufacturing nations by 2032 and become the best by 2035, driven by the talent available in the country, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday.

The minister said four semiconductor companies will begin commercial production this year, adding that almost all major automobile and telecom companies are expected to source semiconductors from these firms.

“I think by 2032, we would be very significant among the top four nations of the semiconductor industry, and by 2035, we would be among the best. This direction is clearly visible. This can be clearly predicted,” Vaishnaw said.

He was speaking on the sidelines of an event held to announce the approval of 22 projects under the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), involving investments worth Rs 41,863 crore.

Under the Semicon India Programme, the government has so far approved 10 manufacturing units, including two fabrication units and eight chip assembly, test and packaging projects, with a total investment of Rs 1.6 lakh crore.

Providing details on the production timelines, Vaishnaw said that companies which began pilot production last year would move to commercial production earlier.

“The plants which started pilot production last year, they are the ones that will get into commercial production earlier, which is Kaynes and CG Semi. Micron has also started pilot production very recently. They will also go next month. Tata plant in Assam will start pilot production by middle of the year, and by the end of the year they will start the commercial production,” he said.

In addition to manufacturing, the government is also supporting chip design under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme. As many as 24 chip design projects are being supported through startups under the scheme, representing a total project value of Rs 920 crore.

The minister said that the semiconductor industry has been discussing India’s leadership potential in the sector due to the government’s focus on talent development.

He said there are currently 298 universities in the country where students are designing chips that are getting validated.

“We could not count more than 20 universities in the whole world, including the US, China, and Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, where students can design a chip, manufacture it, and validate the product. India has, because of our focus on silicon, 298 universities,” Vaishnaw said.