India to expand semiconductor mission, Semicon 2.0 will be unveiled soon: Ashwini Vaishnaw

The central government will soon unveil the Semicon 2.0 program, having a much-expanded scope than the previous programme, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology announced on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Semicon India 2024.

“We are now formulating the Semicon 2.0 program, which will be a much-expanded form of Semicon 1.0,” he told reporters, adding that the first phase of the program is largely complete.

“Semicon 2.0 may be unveiled in three to four months. The second phase will focus on the complete value chain,” the minister said.

The Programme for Development of Semiconductors and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem in India (or Semicon 1.0) was notified on December 21, 2021, with a total outlay of Rs 76,000 crore.

Vaishnaw noted that the best part about India is that the entire semiconductor ecosystem is coming to the country. Global industry leaders are applauding India’s growing semiconductor ecosystem, he said.

Also, the ninister announced that the upgrade plan for the semiconductor lab in Mohali is ready and it will be taken up in the Cabinet soon.

The government has so far approved five semiconductor units in India, of which construction in two sites is on, and soon the work in the rest three will start.

In June 2023, the Union Cabinet approved a proposal for setting up a semiconductor unit in Sanand, Gujarat. In February 2024, three more semiconductor units were approved – two in Gujarat and one in Assam. Earlier this month, the government approved the proposal of Kaynes Semicon Pvt Ltd to set up a semiconductor unit in Sanand, Gujarat.

They have already made a cumulative investment of almost Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

American chip maker Micron’s high-end semiconductor fabrication plant at Gujarat’s Sanand, which is India’s first, is coming up at a rapid pace. It is expected to be operational in late 2024.

The minister today said that there are many proposals under evaluation, including for Uttar Pradesh. “After evaluation, we will take them to cabinet for approvals,” he said.

With India’s electronics sector now valued at over USD 150 billion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at the same event earlier today outlined a larger goal to take the country’s electronics sector to USD 500 billion and create 6 million jobs by the end of this decade.

“Our goal is that 100 per cent of electronic manufacturing should happen in India. India will make semiconductor chips and the finished product too,” PM Modi said.