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BUSINESS & TRADE OCTOBER 02, 2026 | The Indian Eye 32

India’s Chip Ambition: Building a

Global Semiconductor Hub

India’s semiconductor opportunity is moving beyond chip factories as the country seeks to build the

manufacturing, supplier, design and talent ecosystem needed to capture a larger share of the global market.

OUR BUREAU The global industry is expected to
require more than one million addi-
New Delhi / Mumbai
tional skilled workers by 2030, accord-
ndia’s semiconductor story is en- ing to Deloitte. India will therefore
tering a more ambitious phase. have to compete not only for invest-
IThe country is no longer merely ment but also for specialised talent.
trying to reduce its dependence on For India, developing this talent
imported chips. It is seeking to be- pipeline will be critical. Semiconduc-
come a significant part of the global tor manufacturing requires engineers
semiconductor supply chain—and who understand processes, equip-
eventually meet a substantial share of ment, design, testing and increasingly
global demand. complex technologies. The country’s
A report by JM Financials esti- semiconductor ambitions will ulti-
mates that India could aim to meet mately depend on whether education
around 25 per cent of global semicon- and industry can produce enough
ductor demand by 2032. Achieving people with these specialised skills.
that target, however, will require far The government’s policy support
more than a handful of fabrication is also evolving. The JM Financials re-
plants. India will need advanced pack- port says work on ISM 3.0 is already
aging facilities, semiconductor design underway, suggesting that semicon-
capabilities, a domestic supplier base, ductor policy is likely to remain a
specialised equipment, infrastructure long-term industrial priority.
and a large pool of technical talent. That continuity matters because
The scale of the opportunity is semiconductor investments have un-
enormous. The global semiconductor usually long gestation periods. Tata
market is projected to expand from Electronics’ Dholera facility is expect-
around $775 billion in 2024 to $1.6 Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal speaks during the special leadership ed to begin commercial operations by
trillion by 2030, while India’s semicon- 2028, while Micron’s Sanand facility
ductor market could reach $110-120 address session titled “India 3.0: Engaging for Growth in a Disrupted World” at the 13th Annual began manufacturing in February 2026
billion by 2030, according to the report. Forum 2026, in New Delhi on Thursday (ANI Photo/Ritik Sharma) and employs more than 2,000 people.
Commerce and Industry Minister State-level support will also re-
Piyush Goyal has put the opportuni- the scale of what is required. Accord- are correspondingly large. Projects main important. Gujarat and Assam,
ty even higher, saying India’s annual ing to the JM Financials report, the approved under ISM 1.0 alone are ex- for example, have supported semi-
semiconductor demand could exceed plant will depend on more than 400 pected to require around $12-13 bil- conductor projects with dedicated
$150 billion over the next five years. suppliers. These suppliers need to be lion in capital equipment, apart from infrastructure including power and
The numbers explain why semicon- located close to the facility because the technical workforce and mainte- water supplies.
ductors have become a strategic in- semiconductor manufacturing leaves nance infrastructure needed to oper- India’s semiconductor opportuni-
dustrial priority for India. little room for delays in equipment ate the facilities over the long term. ty, therefore, is becoming much bigger
But the real challenge is not de- maintenance or replacement. India is increasingly attracting than the question of how many chips
mand. It is building the ecosystem Tata Electronics is therefore de- the companies that can provide this the country can manufacture.
capable of serving that demand. The veloping a vendor park covering more industrial backbone. The real objective is to create a
first phase of India’s semiconductor than 350 acres at Dholera, designed Applied Materials has announced complete semiconductor ecosystem—
push focused heavily on attracting in- to provide plug-and-play facilities for its India Vision 2035, including a from design to fabrication, packaging
vestment in manufacturing. The India global suppliers. planned $5 billion investment aimed and testing, and from equipment and
Semiconductor Mission approved 12 This is the difference between at expanding local supply-chain ca- materials to suppliers, engineering
facilities under its first phase, includ- building a semiconductor factory and pacity and developing a network of services and talent.
ing fabrication and packaging projects. building a semiconductor industry. more than 100 suppliers. Lam Re- If India can build that ecosystem
The government has subsequently in- A modern chip plant cannot op- search has committed ₹10,000 crore at scale, the projected growth of the
troduced ISM 2.0, with greater em- erate in isolation. It requires equip- to develop its first vertically integrat- global semiconductor market could
phasis on semiconductor design as ment manufacturers, materials suppli- ed silicon-component manufacturing become an important driver of its
well as manufacturing. ers, maintenance companies, logistics unit in India. own industrial transformation.
The next challenge is creating the providers, packaging facilities, testing India’s large pool of engineers is The semiconductor race is ulti-
industrial network around these plants. infrastructure and specialised engi- another potential advantage, but it mately a race for technology, capital,
Tata Electronics’ proposed fab- neering services. will need to be converted into semi- talent and supply chains.
rication facility at Dholera illustrates The investment requirements conductor-specific expertise. India has begun assembling all four.

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