Vaishnaw Warns of Sabotage Threats as India's Chip Sector Grows

India's semiconductor industry should brace for deliberate attempts to disrupt its growth, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said, describing chips as a strategic sector that will inevitably attract opposition.

Speaking about the challenges ahead, Vaishnaw said the country's expanding role in chip design and manufacturing has drawn global attention, and with that recognition comes resistance. He said the industry must be ready for such scenarios rather than be caught off guard.

He pointed to the period when Apple began assembling iPhones in India, recalling incidents such as food poisoning, the cutting of electricity wires and the circulation of false claims about married women being barred from factory work. According to him, these were signs that some quarters did not want India to emerge as a manufacturing power.

Vaishnaw said similar tactics are likely to be directed at the semiconductor ecosystem. He listed cyber attacks, the spread of misinformation and physical attacks as the kinds of challenges stakeholders could face, and said he has asked the entire industry to prepare for them.

The minister's remarks underline the strategic weight that semiconductors now carry. Chips are essential to computers, mobile phones and weapons systems, and the artificial intelligence boom has intensified demand and competition for them. The United States, Taiwan and South Korea remain the leading producers, with China closing the gap, while both Washington and Beijing treat the sector as a strategic asset.

India has stepped up its own push in recent years, promoting chip design and manufacturing at home and organising SEMICON India since 2022 to build the ecosystem. The 2026 edition of the event was held from September 17 to 19, drawing around 300 international companies from 52 countries, with 56 memoranda of understanding, announcements and strategic initiatives signed during the three days.