India is currently heading high to place itself as a semiconductor superpower in the global arena. The semiconductor is a critical component and plays a crucial role in the development of various strategically important sectors of the economy such as electronics, IT, space, defence, aerospace, telecommunication, and automobile among many others.

India is targeting to become the third largest economy by 2030 and a US$ 5 trillion economy by 2047 for which manufacturing and designing of semiconductors has a major role to play. This will also have strategic and economic significance as the global semiconductor manufacturing market is under the dominance of China and the USA.

With a major surge in semiconductor demand due to rapid technological developments in the areas of AI/ML, space science, defence, and 5G technology, etc., India has a major role to play in the semiconductor value supply chain. Besides, to prepare itself for any unforeseen situation like COVID-19 and counter the changing geopolitical equations with China and the USA, India needs to develop its capabilities in semiconductor manufacturing and chip design to become ‘Atmanirbhar’ in its technological quest to support economic growth.

The promotion of research and development with the help of conducive government policy support such as Production and Design-linked Incentive schemes, the sector is expected the grow at a CAGR of more than 17%. It is expected to achieve the projected target of US$ 80.3 billion by 2028 with the help of a robust education and skill development system nurturing the more than 1.4 billion Indian population.

The funding support of US$ 10 billion by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) along with the ‘Make in India’ initiative is going to facilitate capital requirements and produce innovative solutions for the industry to tackle the semiconductor demand in domestic as well as global market.  

Thus, India needs to keep a focused approach to enhance its existing capabilities with the support of government, industry, and research partners in the area armoured with favourable trade policies and robust government policy formulations to claim its unparalleled space in the global semiconductor ecosystem.