India launches Semicon 2.0 plan, releasing six pillars to accelerate semiconductor ecosystem construction

India Launches Semicon 2.0 Plan with Six Pillars, Accelerating Semiconductor Ecosystem Development

New Delhi - Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Railways and Information Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw announced today to the media, outlining the government's vision for enhancing India's semiconductor ecosystem. During this time, the government formally announced the six pillars of the Semicon 2.0 plan, marking a major step forward in strengthening India's semiconductor design and manufacturing capabilities.

The plan builds on the momentum of the first-phase Semicon India initiative, providing financial and infrastructural support to all links in the semiconductor value chain—from chip design, manufacturing, and packaging to equipment, materials, R&D, and talent development. Its core objective is to increase the resilience of the semiconductor supply chain and establish a technological leadership in key areas to promote India's economic growth and national security.

The Semicon 2.0 plan will cover ten categories through six pillars, specifically including:

• Pillar One: Design: Covering the design of semiconductor Intellectual Property (IP), chips, System-on-Chips (SoC), and modules in national important and strategic priority sectors; as well as the design of commercial semiconductor IP, chips, and SoCs, and providing Deployment Incentive (DLI).
• Pillar Two: Machines and Materials: Focusing on the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem.
• Pillar Three: Setting up more Fabs: Including the construction of silicon wafer fabs, compound semiconductor/photonics/sensor (including MEMS) wafers, and display wafer fabs.
• Pillar Four: Further strengthening the ATMP/OSAT industry: Supporting the construction of Assembly, Test, Marking, and Packaging (ATMP) / Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facilities.
• Pillar Five: Research and Development: Supporting R&D activities for advanced semiconductor technologies.
• Pillar Six: Talent Development: Dedicated to cultivating semiconductor talent.

In his speech, Minister Vaishnaw emphasized that India has made significant progress in training semiconductor engineers, exceeding the target for developing engineers within four years, and has set new goals, with nearly 10% of the global semiconductor market expected to come from India in the coming years.The scheme aims to provide a solid foundation for the development of India's semiconductor industry by supporting all links in the semiconductor value chain, including design, manufacturing, R&D, and talent cultivation. Funded projects for the Semicon 2.0 project typically last six years, with the scheme initially open for applications for three years.

The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) will serve as the nodal agency for Semicon 2.0, responsible for project recruitment, technical and financial evaluation, candidate recommendation, and supervision of implementation. Furthermore, the development of India's semiconductor ecosystem is expected to create fifty thousand to sixty thousand direct jobs.

The Indian government has pledged that the implementation of this scheme will further consolidate its position in key technology sectors and enhance the resilience of the semiconductor supply chain.