$10 bn chipmaking push: Semiconductor sector will be on par with US by 2032, says Vaishnaw; calls it ‘very fair race’

Within the next one decade, the Indian semiconductor industry is expected to come at par with global chipmaking leaders like the US and China.

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday outlined the government's most ambitious technology targets, saying that the country’s plans for the sector have advanced far more quickly than anticipated.

Speaking at Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum in Singapore, he pointed to the $10 billion semiconductor incentive scheme, designed to build manufacturing, assembly and design capacity, as the foundation for this push.

“In case of semiconductors, by 2031-2032 — in that timeframe we will be equivalent to what many of these countries are at today,” he said. “Then it’ll be a race which will be very fair and a level playing field,” ET reported citing the agency.

Vaishnaw stressed that India’s progress, despite being only three years into its semiconductor strategy, has already attracted major global and domestic names. “For instance, we started on semiconductor journey just 3 years back. Today, we have a semiconductor ecosystem,” he said.

Companies such as Micron Technology have begun setting up testing and packaging operations in Gujarat, while Tata Group is preparing to bring chip fabrication into the domestic market.

According to Vaishnaw, India is on track for three semiconductor facilities to start commercial production early next year, a milestone moment as countries from the US and China to Taiwan, South Korea and Japan ramp up their own investments to secure future supplies for AI, electric mobility and advanced computing technologies.

The minister said India’s strength lies not just in financial incentives but also in its engineering talent and growing depth in chip design. “Our design capabilities, ability to look at complex problems and have a talent pool which can be basically deployed in any major tech arena, these are all arenas that will help us accelerate,” he said.

He added that India’s approach is to build its capabilities without undermining others. “We should strengthen our line, make ourselves strong and increase our capabilities instead of shrinking others' potential, that's what our PM says,” Vaishnaw told Bloomberg.

He also noted that India’s plans align with a global shift in how countries view technology infrastructure. “Digital sovereignty is a point that every country thinks about today in a sense that we have the ability to have control over our own future,” he said.





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