ISM 2.0 to focus on ecosystem, skilling, capital and R&D to make India semiconductor superpower: CEO, India Semiconductor Mission

New Delhi [India], February 20 (ANI): The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0 will focus on strengthening ecosystem development, skilling, capital access, and research and development (R&D) to help India emerge as a semiconductor superpower, said Amitesh Kumar Sinha, Additional Secretary, MeitY and CEO of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), in an exclusive conversation with ANI.
Highlighting the roadmap under ISM 2.0, Sinha said ecosystem development remains one of the key priorities.
"We have to work parallelly on all requirements. One is ecosystem development. So ISM 2.0 will address the need for ecosystem development," he said.
He further emphasised that skilling is another critical pillar for the semiconductor sector, which requires highly specialised talent across the value chain.
"Skilling is a very important part of this data ecosystem, whether it is for designing, manufacturing, packaging for different kind of equipment R&D or technology development you need lot of high quality researchers PhD scholars so skilling is very important," he added.
Sinha also highlighted the importance of market access, noting that Indian semiconductor companies must expand globally to achieve scale and competitiveness.
"We always encourage our companies to go global because the scale will drive down their cost further and they will become more profitable and stronger companies," he said.
He noted that capital availability remains a key challenge, as semiconductor manufacturing is highly capital-intensive. The government is actively supporting the sector through incentives and funding support.
"Government support is needed, whether it is for design, for manufacturing or packaging and that we are doing and for ecosystem development, capital will be provided by the central government and in this you see lot of state governments have announced specific policies for semiconductor," he stated.
He added that globally, advanced semiconductor nations have provided sustained incentives over decades to build their capabilities.
"Worldwide, if you see all advanced countries where semiconductor has developed to a certain level, they have provided quite a substantial incentive and for the last 20 30 years they have provided incentives to reach the stage where they are today," he said.
Sinha further noted that attracting venture capital and strengthening R&D capabilities will also be key focus areas under ISM 2.0.
"So this capital availability is again an issue, and then we need to address whether we want to attract VC culture. So a lot of VC culture is prevailing outside India, but now we are seeing the momentum of funding semiconductor also. They are now interested in investing in deep tech startups also," he said.
"And then last but not the least is R&D. So for cutting-edge technology, we must develop our R&D capabilities, and you will see that ISM 2.0 will also focus on that," he added.
Speaking about India AI Impact Summit 2026, Sinha said the event witnessed strong global participation and showcased India's growing capabilities in artificial intelligence.
"First key takeaway is that we have seen the global participation. The global participation shows how much other countries think that India is capable of doing," he said.
He added that many Indian startups are already developing advanced AI models and applications.
"We have seen many startups showcasing their models and AI applications. Many of them have superior parameters or outcomes on different scales when they compare their solutions with already established AI applications," he said.
Under the India AI Mission, the government is supporting startups with computing infrastructure, datasets, and financial assistance.
He also highlighted that India's strong software base gives it a major advantage in AI development, supported by high-power computing servers under the National Supercomputing Mission.
Several startups are developing AI solutions for agriculture, healthcare, traffic management, and large language models, while government agencies are applying AI for disaster management, earthquake response, and medical research.
Sinha expressed confidence that with continued support under ISM 2.0 and the India AI Mission, India is well-positioned to emerge as a global leader in semiconductor and AI technologies in the coming years. (ANI)