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Semiconductor investments of around USD 12 billion are expected to create more than one lakh jobs in India as the government expands the domestic chip ecosystem under Semicon 2.0, Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of SEMICON India 2026 in New Delhi, Vaishnaw confirmed the USD 12 billion investment figure and said, It will be a major investment and more than one lakh jobs will be created. He said the semiconductor ecosystem would expand across chemicals, gases, equipment, chip packaging and design, while talent development would remain a major focus. There will be several kinds of participants chemical manufacturers, gas manufacturers, equipment manufacturers and new ATMP units. New companies will also get opportunities in design, Vaishnaw said. Separately, he said more than one lakh young people would be prepared for jobs in the semiconductor sector. Vaishnaw said Semicon 1.0 had laid the foundation for Indias semiconductor industry, while Semicon 2.0 would focus on developing the wider ecosystem in the country. On research and development, he said the government would work with industry and academia on applied R&D projects, with funding shared between the government and industry. We are very focused on R&D. We would like to have more applied research and development. We will work with industry and academia to identify the projects, he said. We will actually ask the industry to give the projects which they would like the academia to work on, and we would fund it partly; partly it would be funded by the industry, Vaishnaw added. Asked when India could build a semiconductor ecosystem capable of competing with China, Vaishnaw did not give a timeline but said the country had laid a strong foundation and would pursue development systematically. The semiconductor industry is one of the most complex industries in the entire world, he said, adding that India needs a long-term view and must ensure all the building blocks of the industry are put in place correctly. On critical minerals, he said several players in the critical-minerals supply chain were part of the semiconductor mission. Responding to a question on whether India could eventually build a company comparable to Nvidia, Vaishnaw said the work was complex but added, I hope there will be a breakthrough in this area as well. We are working on something a particular approach is being worked on and I will tell you more about it in the coming time. On artificial intelligence, Vaishnaw said regulation has a role in addressing risks and ensuring user safety, adding that the government was working with industry on the right approach to AI regulation and online safety. Asked about suggestions that global AI concerns were being driven by US interests, he said, I sincerely believe that the genuine risks have to be addressed. (ANI)
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