From launch-ready processors to billion-dollar investments, SEMICON India 2025 started off with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of chips as the new oil of the 21st century.
Barely hours after returning from a whirlwind tour of China and Japan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated SEMICON India 2025 at Yashobhoomi in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Union Minister of State for Commerce & Industry and Electronics & Information Technology; Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Cabinet Minister overseeing Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology; Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Rekha Gupta, Chief Minister of Delhi (NCT)
The event, attended by delegates from nearly 50 countries, opened with a moment that symbolised India’s semiconductor aspirations: Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw presented Vikram, the first fully ‘Made in India’ 32-bit microprocessor designed to withstand the extreme conditions of launch vehicles.
The Prime Minister’s address mixed geopolitics, economic ambition, and technological vision. He began by recalling his visit to Tokyo Electron’s facility in Sendai with the Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. “The world trusts India and believes in India,” he said, framing semiconductors as central to the vision of Viksit Bharat and Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
From oil to chips
In one of his lines, Modi declared, “Oil was black gold, but chips are digital diamonds. Oil drove the 20th-century economy; semiconductors will define the 21st.” The remark appeared to resonate beyond economics, subtly signalling India’s shifting foreign policy at a time when Western concerns over its Russian oil imports remain high.
The Prime Minister linked semiconductors to India’s broader economic trajectory. With Q1 GDP growth at 7.8% despite global headwinds, he predicted that India was on track to become the world’s third-largest economy. He also spotlighted the semiconductor market, valued at $600 billion and projected to hit $1 trillion soon.
SEMICON India’s speed of growth
A chart displayed during the event showed India’s rapid rise in the semiconductor ecosystem. While SEMICON West in the US took 14 years to cross 1300 booths and SEMICON China took 12 years, SEMICON India achieved the milestone in just two years (see chart). The Prime Minister asked whether India could reach 4500 booths within the next decade; a scale China only managed after nearly 40 years.
Investments and ecosystem
Since 2021, when SEMICON India took off, and 2022, when the government started greenlighting ventures, projects worth $18 billion have been approved, stated the PM. He highlighted recent milestones, including CG Power’s new plant, Micron’s assembly and test facility, and Tata’s semiconductor foray.
Modi announced that India will roll out its first commercial chips by the end of 2025, with Noida and Bengaluru emerging as key design hubs.
Crucially, the government’s support extends beyond fabrication. Through the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI), Design-Linked Incentive (DLI), India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), and Chips-to-Startup (C2S) initiatives, New Delhi aims to cover the entire semiconductor value chain. To date, 23 design projects have been approved under DLI, and 72 companies are utilising state-of-the-art design tools.
Rare Earths, MSMEs and IP
Acknowledging the challenges of securing rare earths and critical minerals, Modi said India’s National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) would help reduce supply chain vulnerabilities. He also spotlighted the role of MSMEs and startups, stressing that 20% of the world’s semiconductor design workforce is Indian.
States such as Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka have rolled out dedicated semiconductor policies, and Modi encouraged “healthy competition” to strengthen India’s edge.
The Prime Minister called on the industry to create homegrown intellectual property. He assured investors of a long-term policy framework, lighter paperwork, and faster clearances to ensure a smooth “file to factory” journey.
India’s semiconductor moment
The scale of SEMICON India 2025, with over 2,500 delegates and 350 exhibitors, has made it one of the fastest-growing platforms in the global semiconductor industry. As Modi concluded, “One day India’s smallest chip will drive the greatest change in the world.”
For India, the message from Yashobhoomi was unambiguous: the country no longer wants to be just a consumer of chips. It is preparing to be a maker, and perhaps, in time, a leader.
The Roadmap at a glance
Flagship schemes
- PLI (Production-Linked Incentive): Incentives to attract global and domestic chipmakers to set up manufacturing and assembly facilities in India.
- DLI (Design-Linked Incentive): Financial support for semiconductor design start-ups and MSMEs; 23 projects cleared so far.
- ISM (India Semiconductor Mission): Nodal agency driving investments, approvals and ecosystem development across the chip value chain.
- C2S (Chips-to-Startup): Focused on training talent and nurturing design entrepreneurs to strengthen India’s design pipeline.
Recent big investments
- Micron: $2.75 billion assembly and test facility, Gujarat.
- Tata Electronics: Entering chip fabrication and OSAT ecosystem.
- CG Power: New semiconductor facility launched recently in Sanand, Gujarat.
- Noida and Bengaluru: Emerging as advanced chip design hubs.
Fast facts
- $18 billion worth of semiconductor projects approved since 2021.
- 20% of the world’s chip design talent is Indian.
- India hit 1300+ SEMICON booths in just two years—a milestone that took the US 14 years and China 12 years.
- First commercial Made-in-India chips expected by end of 2025.
- Global chip market: $600 billion today, $1 trillion by 2030.
