Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, 17 September 2026 inaugurated SEMICON India 2026 in New Delhi, announcing the $13.5 billion second phase of India's Semiconductor Mission and celebrating the commercial launch of chip plants in Mohali and Surat. India-made chips, he said, are now reaching customers both domestically and globally — a milestone that marks the transition from policy promise to industrial reality.

Talent as a Strategic Asset

Modi highlighted India's demographic dividend as a competitive edge in the global chip race, pointing to the government's target of training one lakh engineering students in chip design, of whom 70,000 have already been trained. He noted that students had gifted him custom-designed chips, underscoring the depth of grassroots capability being built. 'Such a large talent pool is, in a way, nothing less than a gold mine for all of you,' Modi told the industry gathering.

The Prime Minister called on researchers working in both domestic and international settings to anchor their advanced technology work within India, framing it as a dual opportunity — for national growth and personal professional advancement.

Industry Urged to Lead R&D

Modi challenged industry leaders to spearhead local research and development rather than rely on imported innovation. 'There is benefit for the industry in this, and the youth power of India will also get strength from this,' he asserted. He credited present industry participants as foundational partners in India's semiconductor journey, saying: 'You are the pillars of this success of India, you are partners.'

The Prime Minister traced the arc of India's chip ambitions — from early policy discussions through project planning and pilot production lines — to the current moment of commercial output. Two new plants in Mohali and Surat have now commenced commercial-scale manufacturing, with chips from Indian facilities beginning to reach global customers.

Mission Phase 2 and Regulatory Reforms

The $13.5 billion second phase of the Semiconductor Mission signals a significant scaling of ambition. Modi also highlighted new regulatory reforms designed to ease collaboration between international companies, startups, and chip design firms — a deliberate effort to attract foreign expertise and capital into the domestic ecosystem. 'The Government of India is taking every step needed for the success of your projects,' he said.

The Prime Minister pointed to twelve approved projects as the foundation of an expanding demand pipeline, urging suppliers of equipment, chemicals, gases, and materials to capitalise on these openings. He stressed the importance of nurturing fabless companies, building intellectual property, and integrating silicon photonics as enabling infrastructure for artificial intelligence applications. 'We want the entire ecosystem to grow together,' he affirmed.

Why This Matters

India's semiconductor push comes amid a global race to diversify chip supply chains away from East Asia, accelerated by geopolitical tensions and the lessons of the post-pandemic shortage that crippled automotive and electronics industries worldwide. This is the second major government intervention in the sector following the first phase of the Semiconductor Mission, and the commercial launch of domestic chip production marks a qualitative shift — from India as a chip consumer to a nascent chip maker. The announcement at SEMICON India 2026 also signals that the Centre intends to leverage the talent pipeline not just for services exports but for deep manufacturing integration.

With phase two funding now formally flagged and regulatory barriers being eased for international partnerships, the next 12–18 months will be critical in determining whether India's chip ecosystem can graduate from pilot scale to globally competitive volumes.