Semicon 2.0 to Build Full Chip Ecosystem With Six Pillars, ₹1 Lakh Crore in Commitments

India's semiconductor programme is moving into a new phase aimed at building a complete ecosystem rather than individual facilities, with the Government outlining six pillars under Semicon 2.0 at SEMICON India 2026.

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said the first phase, Semicon 1.0, had laid the industry's foundation, while Semicon 2.0 is intended to place the wider ecosystem in position and scale capabilities across the value chain.

Investment and jobs

Investment commitments of around ₹1 lakh crore, or roughly USD 11–12 billion, have been received under the Semicon 2.0 ecosystem. These are expected to generate close to 1 lakh new employment opportunities and to materialise over the next two to three years, with companies announcing investments as they secure board and shareholder approvals.

The six pillars

Design: The Government will support start-ups and large firms in scaling fabless operations, with access to funding and venture capital, customer discovery and stronger intellectual property protection. It is targeting 200 semiconductor design start-ups. Of the 105 supported in the first phase, 20 have already secured venture capital funding. Support will also extend from individual chip design towards systems design.

Machines and materials: Efforts will focus on manufacturing equipment, machines and materials, with global capital equipment companies showing interest in setting up design and manufacturing operations in India. The country's precision manufacturing base, which serves aerospace, aviation, semiconductors and advanced electronics, is expected to support these plans.

Fabs: Fabrication capabilities will be expanded across display, memory, silicon, compound and logic technologies, with growing interest from global semiconductor companies.

Advanced packaging: The Government will back capabilities in advanced packaging, which is increasingly important for efficiency and system-level performance.

Research and development: Applied R&D will involve industry, government and academia, with companies encouraged to propose projects that receive funding participation from industry and the Government.

Talent: Around 400 universities and institutes are already engaged in chip-design education. Semicon 2.0 will upgrade curricula so students can progress from foundational chip design to systems design. A target has been set to train 1 lakh technicians over five years, through partnerships with industry and international institutions, including ITRI in Taiwan.

Ecosystem around manufacturing

The Minister said the aim is not limited to setting up individual manufacturing facilities but to build a complete ecosystem around them, including domestic capabilities in capital equipment, materials, gases, chemicals, precision manufacturing and supply chains. He noted growing interest from companies looking to diversify supply chains.

Global competitiveness in quality and cost remains central from project selection through construction and production, he said, adding that facilities already in commercial production are competing globally and that capacity creation at sites under construction is proceeding rapidly.

MoUs and announcements

At SEMICON India 2026, 11 MoU exchanges and announcements were held covering manufacturing, packaging, materials, equipment, design, talent development and related capabilities.

Suchi Semicon Pvt Ltd and eInfochips Pvt Ltd exchanged their first batch of commercial devices. Tata Electronics signed agreements with Nexperia B.V. on wafer manufacturing, assembly and test, technology collaboration and innovation; with Ascendas First Space for a 363-acre vendor park in Dholera, Gujarat; with Fujifilm Corporation on localising critical semiconductor materials; with JSR Corporation for photoresists and advanced chemicals for its Dholera fab; with BESI Singapore Pte. Ltd. on advanced packaging capabilities; and with Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) on design services, process technology, supply-chain localisation and talent development.