- PM Modi inaugurates SEMICON India 2026, spotlighting India’s semiconductor ambitions
- Vaishnaw announces ₹1 lakh crore investment commitments and nearly one lakh expected jobs
- 50-plus MoUs, investment pledges and product launches highlight industry momentum
- Ajit Manocha underscores India’s strategic role in the AI-era semiconductor value chain
- Ashok Chandak: “India is moving from building credibility to building capability”
NE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY BUREAU
NEW DELHI, SEPT 22
Ajit Manocha, President and CEO, SEMI, said the semiconductor industry’s growth outlook and the changing requirements of the artificial intelligence era were creating new opportunities for India.
“The $1 trillion semiconductor target for 2030 is now tracking at more than $2 trillion. India’s consumption is doubling annually while global markets grow at 60 percent—that pace is real. As domestic manufacturing scales under Semicon 2.0, India is poised to realize significant economic growth over time. And in the AI era, the global semiconductor value chain needs to extend its geographical footprint to enable new technology breakthroughs, strengthen its resilience, and develop a deeper talent pipeline. India’s strategic focus to establish a recognized hub and critical ecosystem for the global semiconductor industry builds on its existing strengths while developing new ones for the benefit of India and the world. The word for 2026 is indispensability. That’s India’s path forward.”
Manocha’s remarks highlighted the strategic importance of expanding semiconductor manufacturing geographies, strengthening supply-chain resilience and developing talent to support emerging technologies.
50-plus MoUs and industry commitments mark growing momentum
Ashok Chandak, President, SEMI India and India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), said the event had demonstrated growing confidence and commitment behind India’s semiconductor journey.
“The successful two days of SEMICON India 2026 have demonstrated the growing confidence, commitment and momentum behind India’s semiconductor journey. The inauguration by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji has given this journey an even stronger national and global dimension. With 50+ MoUs and major announcements, more than $7 billion in investment commitments, commercial launches, global CxO participation and strong industry engagement, SEMICON India 2026 has showcased the scale at which the ecosystem is now taking shape. And this is only the beginning—more investments, partnerships and opportunities are in the pipeline. India is moving from building credibility to building capability, and steadily positioning itself as a trusted and competitive player across the global semiconductor value chain.”
The MoU announcements and product unveilings witnessed by Vaishnaw during the first two days highlighted collaborations spanning semiconductor materials, manufacturing, power electronics, advanced packaging, logistics, design and skilling.
Chandak said the event’s momentum extended beyond the exhibition floor to the hackathon, startup pavilion, country roundtables and strategic collaborations involving Indian and international ecosystem partners.
“The energy at SEMICON India this year speaks for itself — from the exhibition floor to the hackathon, the startup pavilion to the country roundtables and a series of strategic collaborations across semiconductor materials, manufacturing, power electronics, advanced packaging, logistics, design and skilling involving Indian and global ecosystem partners ,it’s clear — this is a movement, not a moment, and India’s semiconductor journey is accelerating.”
Major investment announcements
The event featured significant investment commitments and manufacturing-related announcements from global semiconductor companies:
- Applied Materials: Announced a $5 billion investment over the next decade, covering research, supply-chain development and workforce expansion.
- Lam Research: Committed approximately ₹10,000 crore for its first silicon component manufacturing and vertical ingot processing facility in India.
- Micron: Stated that it would assemble and test tens of millions of chips at Sanand this year, scaling up to hundreds of millions next year.
These announcements add to the investment and partnership activity surrounding India’s semiconductor ecosystem, spanning manufacturing infrastructure, research, supply-chain development and workforce capabilities.
28,000 participants in first two days
The first two days of SEMICON India 2026 drew 28,000 on-ground participants, including policymakers, global semiconductor leaders, Indian industry representatives, researchers, startups, academics and students.
Deliberations covered manufacturing, supply chains, R&D, international partnerships, chip design, advanced packaging, materials and talent development, reflecting the industry’s focus on building an integrated “Silicon to Systems” ecosystem.
With investment commitments, MoUs, commercial launches and global executive participation converging at the event, India’s semiconductor push is increasingly centred on translating policy support and international partnerships into manufacturing capacity, technology capabilities and skilled employment.
