India on track to begin commercial semiconductor chip production in 2026: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Veldhoven [Netherlands], January 23 (ANI): Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday said India is on track to begin commercial semiconductor chip production in 2026, meeting the timeline set under the India Semiconductor Mission launched in January 2022.
Speaking with ANI, Minister Vaishnaw said that when the Semiconductor Mission was launched in January 2022, the government had set a goal of starting commercial production within five years.
"The first commercial production will begin in 2026, with four plants expected to commence operations this year. The pilot production has already started in three plants in 2025," he said.
Vaishnaw highlighted that India's semiconductor ecosystem is rapidly taking shape, with global equipment manufacturers setting up operations in the country and a strong material manufacturing ecosystem emerging.
He said the talent pipeline is developing steadily, adding that several targets under the first phase of the Semiconductor Mission are not only on track but ahead of schedule. He pointed out that, against a target of developing 85,000 skilled professionals over 10 years, India has already trained 65,000 in just four years.
The minister also said that the world is taking note of India's progress and there is strong support from across the semiconductor industry.
Addressing the issue of investments, Vaishnaw said total investments have now reached close to USD 90 billion, with committed investments likely to rise to USD 150 billion as the country approaches the AI Impact Summit from February 16-20 in New Delhi.
Speaking on the significance of his visit to Veldhoven, Netherlands, the minister stated that India has embarked on building a new semiconductor industry and that lithography remains the most complex and precision-intensive process in chip manufacturing.
Noting that the semiconductor equipment maker ASML, based in the Netherlands, is the world's leading provider of lithography tools and enables the manufacturing of almost every semiconductor chip globally, the Union Minister said that India's upcoming semiconductor fabrication facility in Dholera, Gujarat, will be using equipment from ASML.
"India has started a new semiconductor industry and in the entire semiconductor industry, lithography, which basically means printing the circuit on the wafer, is the most complex and the most precise work which is required to be done. ASML, here in Netherlands, is world's leading provider of lithographic tools. They are the ones who enable practically every chip which is manufactured in the world. Our fab in Dholera will be using the ASML equipment," Vaishnaw told.
Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also visited the headquarters of ASML in Veldhoven, Netherlands.
The Minister emphasised that ASML coming to India would be a significant development, noting that several equipment manufacturers from across the world are now looking to establish a base in India due to the country's design capabilities, large talent pool, and the consistent policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Emphasising India's growing role in the global semiconductor ecosystem, the minister said such engagements would help accelerate the country's ambitions in high-tech manufacturing and innovation.
Speaking on the progress made in terms of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the minister said, "India's strength in AI is very consistent across the five layers of the AI stack. We will become the leaders in application layer. Sovereign models are getting developed which are very good and which have the capability of solving 95% of the problems that we have. The chip layer is developing very well. Infra layer - close to 70 billion dollars and growing every day."
On his takeaways at the World Economic Forum (WEF), Davos, he said India received strong endorsement from global industry leaders during his engagements, particularly in the areas of semiconductors and Artificial Intelligence.
"The semiconductor round table, where all the big leaders of the semiconductor world were present, showed confidence in India's journey so far, and they would like to contribute to our journey in every way," the minister said.
"The AI leaders were very excited at the R&D happening in our country and the models which are getting developed and the entire diversity of our country is a major factor by which India's AI capabilities will grow to a different level," he further told.
Notably, the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) was approved by the Union Cabinet in December 2021.
With an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore, the programme aims to provide financial support for investments in semiconductor fabrication, display manufacturing and chip design to strengthen India's integration into global electronics value chains.
Envisioned to be led by global experts in the Semiconductor and Display industry, ISM aims to build a strong semiconductor and display ecosystem, positioning India as a global hub for electronics manufacturing and design, while serving as the nodal agency for the efficient and seamless implementation of semiconductor and display schemes. (ANI)