Republic Day 2026: India’s race to build in-house semiconductors picks up pace

In the last few weeks, several reports point to rising prices of advanced chips around the world. With India aiming to boost domestic chip industry, the question of the hour is: how will India tackle the price hike?

India is betting big on semiconductors. From Gujarat to Assam, new plants and research hubs are taking shape, marking the country’s boldest push yet to make chips at home.

Having been dependent on imports for nearly every microchip, India now aims to design, manufacture and package them within its borders, a move that could redefine its digital future.

The mission is not just about technology; it is about independence. As global supply chains remain fragile and demand for chips soars, India’s semiconductor push has become a symbol of economic strength and national self-reliance.

India Semiconductor Mission: The blueprint for chip self-reliance

At the centre of this transformation is the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), launched in December 2021 under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The mission aims to build an end-to-end semiconductor ecosystem in the country.

The initiative was born out of necessity. The global chip shortage during the early 2020s exposed how reliant India was on imports from Taiwan, South Korea and China. ISM is designed to fix that dependency by establishing facilities for chip design, fabrication, packaging and testing within India.

It is also about what policymakers call “silicon sovereignty”, ensuring that India has the capability to power its own digital and defence infrastructure without foreign dependence. As one official aptly said, “Make in India has entered its smartest phase, the era of silicon sovereignty.”

Chip manufacturing in India: Gujarat and Assam lead the charge

India’s silicon ambitions are no longer confined to policy papers. In November 2025, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw handed over 28 chips fabricated at the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL), Mohali, to students representing 17 academic institutions under the Chips to Start-up (C2S) Programme.

These included 600 bare dies and 600 packaged chips designed and produced domestically, a milestone that symbolises India’s growing technical expertise and self-reliance in semiconductor innovation.

Momentum has been steadily building since. In late 2025, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved four new semiconductor projects under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM).

These additions — SiCSem, Continental Device India Private Limited (CDIL), 3D Glass Solutions Inc, and Advanced System in Package (ASIP) Technologies — bring India’s total approved semiconductor projects to ten, with a combined investment exceeding Rs 1.6 lakh crore across six states.

Each has a specific focus: SiCSem and 3D Glass Solutions will establish units in Odisha, CDIL will expand its existing operations in Punjab, and ASIP Technologies will set up shop in Andhra Pradesh. Together, these ventures are laying the groundwork for a self-sustaining semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem that supports the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) vision.

Further west, Gujarat’s Dholera region has become the epicentre of India’s chip revolution. Tata Electronics is building the country’s first indigenous semiconductor fabrication plant in partnership with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC). This state-of-the-art fab will produce chips for electronics, automotive, and defence applications, putting India firmly on the global semiconductor map.

Meanwhile, Assam is gearing up to join the race with proposals for chip-packaging plants and semiconductor research centres. This expansion signals that the semiconductor boom is no longer limited to western or southern India — it is spreading to new regions, unlocking opportunities and transforming local economies.

With the India Semiconductor Mission now approving projects across multiple states, India’s chip ecosystem is taking a federal shape. From Odisha to Gujarat, Punjab to Assam, the movement to manufacture chips domestically is emerging as a truly national effort.

Design and innovation: The road to silicon independence

While manufacturing forms the foundation, design and innovation remain at the heart of India’s semiconductor ambitions.

In August 2025, the government sanctioned 23 chip-design projects under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme to strengthen indigenous R&D. These projects, led by startups and MSMEs, focus on developing System-on-Chip (SoC) and specialised semiconductors for applications in surveillance, energy management, networking, and microprocessor IPs.

To empower designers, 72 companies have been granted access to industry-grade Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools, enabling them to design, test, and simulate chips at global standards.

Among the emerging success stories is Vervesemi Microelectronics, a Bengaluru-based fabless semiconductor company that has become one of India’s first to export semiconductor intellectual property (IPs) globally.

At the same time, IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, and several other institutes are expanding semiconductor research and training, ensuring a steady pipeline of engineers who can bridge the gap between design and fabrication. International players like Applied Materials and Lam Research are also investing in India-based R&D and training centres, helping upskill the workforce needed for this complex industry.
India’s silicon story gathers pace

Chipmaking is among the most intricate and capital-intensive industries in the world, but India’s progress in 2025 proves that determination and strategic vision can turn ambition into infrastructure. With fabs rising in Gujarat, startups innovating in Bengaluru, and research intensifying in Mohali and Delhi, India’s semiconductor ecosystem is expanding faster than ever before.

The India Semiconductor Mission is not just an industrial programme; it is a declaration of technological independence. Each new fab, design lab, and R&D hub adds another layer to a vision of a self-reliant digital economy, one capable of powering everything from 5G networks and electric vehicles to satellites and supercomputers.

As India celebrates Republic Day 2026, this push for silicon self-reliance showcases its ambition to build a parallel chip supply chains to suit its needs and be an alternative to boost global supplies. The Indian government has often spoken about the turnaround in the smartphone manufacturing and export of these devices in recent years, pitching it as a success model for building a robust chip industry.