Why in the News?
SEMICON India 2026 will be inaugurated at Yashobhoomi, Dwarka, with the theme “Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem.”
Key Highlights
- India’s electronics production rose from ₹1.9 lakh crore (2014-15) to ₹13.11 lakh crore (2025-26).
- Electronics exports increased from ₹38,000 crore to ₹4.24 lakh crore.
- Mobile phone production rose to ₹6.27 lakh crore.
- India now manufactures 99.2% of the mobile phones it uses.
- Electronics manufacturing supports around 2.5 million jobs.
Semicon India Programme
- Semicon 1.0 (2021): ₹76,000 crore outlay.
- Semicon 2.0 (2026): ₹1,27,500 crore outlay.
- Six focus areas:
- Chip design
- Semiconductor equipment and materials
- Fabrication facilities
- Advanced packaging
- Research and development
- Talent development
- 12 semiconductor projects approved across 6 states, with investments exceeding ₹1.64 lakh crore.
- 3 facilities have started commercial production.
Semiconductor Talent
- Target: 85,000 skilled semiconductor engineers.
- Chips to Startup Programme deployed Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools across 320 institutions.
- More than 68,000 students trained.
- 211 chips taped out by 75 institutions by April 2026.
- Seven chips fabricated, including nodes down to 12 nm.
ChipIN Centre
- Established at C-DAC under the Chips to Startup and Design Linked Incentive programmes.
- Provides access to chip-design tools, fabrication services and training.
- Reached 1 lakh+ engineers from 500+ organisations.
International Dimension
- India joined the Pax Silica coalition in 2026.
- Focus: securing the global silicon supply chain, including critical minerals, fabrication and advanced AI systems.
Important Full Forms
- SEMICON: Semiconductor-related industry exhibition/platform
- EDA: Electronic Design Automation
- C-DAC: Centre for Development of Advanced Computing
- C2S: Chips to Startup
- DLI: Design Linked Incentive
- MSME: Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Prelims Quick Revision
- Semicon India Programme: launched in 2021.
- Semicon 1.0: ₹76,000 crore.
- Semicon 2.0: ₹1,27,500 crore.
- ChipIN Centre: C-DAC.
- Semiconductor ecosystem includes design + fabrication + packaging + testing + equipment/materials + talent.
