Semicon 2.0 Expansion: India's Mega Semiconductor Drive

The government has officially notified the Semicon 2.0 scheme with an outlay of ₹1.27 lakh crore ($13.31 billion) to accelerate India’s domestic semiconductor ecosystem. Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw highlighted that India is positioned to capture nearly 10% of the global semiconductor market, evolving into a critical player across the global value chain from wafer fabrication to finished chip production. Demonstrating rapid progress in workforce development, the country trained 85,000 semiconductor engineers in just four years—surpassing its original 10-year goal—and has now targeted the training of an additional 100,000 engineers. Global industry confidence continues to strengthen, driven by swift project execution under the initial Semicon 1.0 program, policy predictability, ease of doing business, and a burgeoning technical talent pool. Semicon 2.0 is designed to establish India as an indispensable long-term anchor for global chip supply chains over the next five decades, with the initiative expected to generate 50,000 to 60,000 direct jobs. Demonstrating decentralization and operational speed, engineering students from Tier-II and Tier-III cities have already designed over 250 chips, while select commercial projects achieved production within 13 months of groundbreaking alongside regulatory approvals granted in as few as 90 days. Administered by the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) with technical assistance from C-DAC, the updated framework expands fiscal and infrastructure support across six core pillars spanning design, fabrication, ATMP/OSAT packaging, manufacturing equipment, raw materials, R&D, and skill development.