“Our goal is that 100 percent of electronic manufacturing should happen in India. India will make semiconductor chips and the finished product, too. India's semiconductor ecosystem is a solution not just for India's challenges but also for global challenges,” says Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With the establishment of the semiconductor mission, India has begun a revolution in the global semiconductor market and could prove to be a vital hub for semiconductor manufacture in the years to come. India's semiconductor industry is anticipated to grow through its growing tech community, highly qualified workforce, and pro-government laws, as well as the present worldwide trend that threatens the supremacy of sole production of China, and it is working to diversify the supply chain for semiconductors. Let’s learn more about the government’s initiatives toward India’s semiconductor mission.

India Semiconductor Mission
Within the Digital India Corporation, the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) operates as a separate entity. Its primary objective is to develop a robust semiconductor and display ecosystem to establish India as a major participant in the design and manufacturing of electronics worldwide. ISM acts as a central authority for carrying out the Program for Development of Semiconductor and Display Ecosystem, ensuring coordinated implementation in cooperation with government ministries, industry, and academia. It is overseen by global experts in the semiconductor and display industries.

According to reports, the government is nearing the end of the process of approving the next round of bids for semiconductor projects that are still outstanding under the first phase of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM). Applications from the Hiranandani group's Tarq Semiconductors, an HCL Group-Foxconn joint venture, and two or three additional companies will be examined by the government. Approximately Rs 4,600–4,700 crore of the initial investment of Rs 76,000 crore for the semiconductor mission's first phase is still outstanding.

Developments in the Semiconductor Mission
Semicon 2.0, a far more complete version of the first phase that will concentrate on building the entire ecosystem, is being created by the government. The government is preparing to begin the second phase of the semiconductor mission, which will involve component firms, raw material suppliers, and other significant ecosystem participants in addition to semiconductor production and chip packaging facilities.

Establishing a sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem is the goal of the India Semiconductor Mission. Of the 472,819 research articles published globally during that period, 39,709 were contributed by writers from Indian organizations, making up 8.4 percent of the total. Over five years, India's contribution grew by 26 percent, in line with the country's increasing focus on the critical industry. With 160,852 units produced over that period, or 34 percent of the worldwide market, China has surpassed the US as the industry leader. India has advanced in some chip design value chain domains. Chip design now employs more than half a million experts, and almost all product businesses and design organizations, such as Qualcomm, AMD, and Intel, have headquarters there.

According to a Boston Consulting Group study, approximately 19 percent of the world's talent is comprised of Indian engineers. The primary focus of research coming out of India is the back-end portion of the chip or the value chain for product creation. Given the environment created by the current administration, the R&D segment has experienced double-digit growth. To support the country's advanced R&D, the government has contributed Rs 2,000 crore. As a result, India's semiconductor research has advanced, as seen by the rise in government spending in the area from Rs 183.52 crore in FY15 to Rs 251 crore in FY24.

India is still far behind countries like the US and China, which now dominate scholarly study in this important field. The relatively low number of citations per report shows that, despite India's growing involvement in semiconductor research, its contributions are not as substantial as those of the US, which leads the world in citations. India's engineering and scientific institutions are similarly lagging. China is home to nine of the ten institutes that publish the most research articles.

Also Read: Semiconductor MNCs are Revitalizing Make in India

How will the Industry Fill the Skill Gap?
As the electronics sector moves into high-tech fields like artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and industry 4.0 technologies, there is a serious skills shortage in the sector. According to reports, 12 million people will be employed in direct and indirect roles in the electronics sector in FY 2027–2028. However, there will be a significant workforce shortage of 8 million and a skills gap that will impact an additional 10 million. Additionally, there is a glaring misalignment between educational outcomes and industry requirements, with academic programs failing to keep up with the electronics sector's rapid technological advancements.