India's electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) industry on Monday, 31 August welcomed the government's formal notification of the ₹1.27 lakh crore Semicon 2.0 programme, projecting that the scheme could catalyse over ₹5 lakh crore in cumulative private investment over the next five to seven years and materially deepen the country's semiconductor ecosystem.

What Semicon 2.0 Covers

The programme builds on the earlier Semicon India Programme and takes a comprehensive, end-to-end approach structured around six pillars spanning the full semiconductor value chain — chip design, fabrication plants, assembly, testing, packaging facilities, equipment and materials, research and development, and workforce development.

The government also proposed identifying strategically important semiconductor products through a high-level committee to be jointly chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser and the National Security Adviser — a signal of how central semiconductors now are to India's industrial and security calculus.

Industry Response and Investment Outlook

The India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) said the speed of the government's move — from Cabinet approval to official notification — sends a strong signal of policy continuity. IESA President Ashok Chandak said, 'The official notification of Semicon 2.0 is a very significant milestone. The speed with which the government has moved from Cabinet approval to official notification sends a strong message of policy continuity, execution and commitment.'

Chandak noted that policy continuity is especially critical in an industry where investment decisions are made with a horizon of 10 to 15 years. He said the notification would provide confidence to both domestic and global investors planning long-term projects in India.

Based on the current investment pipeline and the expanded scope of the scheme, IESA expects Semicon 2.0 to catalyse over ₹5 lakh crore in cumulative industry investment across fabrication units, ATMP and OSAT facilities, equipment and materials manufacturing, research and development, chip design, and supply-chain activities.

Building on Phase One

The first phase of the semiconductor programme had already helped build confidence in the ecosystem, with 12 approved projects, support for more than 100 design startups, and wider access to electronic design automation tools across educational institutions. Semicon 2.0 is designed to scale these gains systematically.

IESA also highlighted that the government's fiscal outlay should be viewed as a catalyst for significantly larger private investment, with semiconductor projects generating demand across equipment, materials, specialty chemicals, packaging, logistics, and skilled talent.

Integrated Ecosystem Play

The association said Semicon 2.0, combined with related schemes — the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS), and Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC) — could together create an integrated ecosystem that boosts domestic value addition and technology development.

IESA congratulated Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan, India Semiconductor Mission CEO Amitesh Kumar Sinha, and the broader MeitY–ISM team for their leadership and speed of execution. With formal notification now in place, the industry's focus shifts to implementation timelines and disbursement frameworks.