Chip ambitions: India targets top-four semiconductor rank by 2032; Ashwini Vaishnaw outlines 2035 roadmap

India is set to emerge as one of the world’s top four semiconductor manufacturing nations by 2032 and aims to become the best by 2035, driven by its talent base and expanding ecosystem, Union minister for electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday, reported PTI .Speaking on the sidelines of an event announcing approval of 22 projects worth Rs 41,863 crore under the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), Vaishnaw said four chip companies will begin commercial production in 2026, with major automobile and telecom firms expected to source semiconductors domestically. “I think by 2032, we would be very significant among the top 4 nations of the semiconductor industry, and by 2035, we would be among the best. This direction is clearly visible. This can be clearly predicted,” Vaishnaw said .Under the Semicon India Programme, the government has so far approved 10 manufacturing units — including two fabrication plants and eight assembly, testing and packaging units — involving investments of about Rs 1.6 lakh crore, according to the minister.Detailing the production timeline, Vaishnaw said, “The plants which started pilot production last year, they are the ones that will get into commercial production earlier, which is Kaynes and CG Semi. Micron has also started pilot production very recently. They will also go next month. Tata plant in Assam will start pilot production by middle of the year, and by the end of the year they will start the commercial production,” he said .In parallel, India’s chip design capabilities are also expanding. Under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme, 24 chip design projects are being supported through startups, representing a total project value of Rs 920 crore.Vaishnaw attributed India’s growing prominence in semiconductors to a strong focus on talent development. He said students across 298 universities in the country are now designing chips that are being validated.“We could not count more than 20 universities in the whole world, including the US, China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, where students can design a chip, manufacture it, and validate the product. India has, because of our focus on silicon, 298 universities,” Vaishnaw said .The minister said this expanding talent pipeline, combined with large-scale manufacturing investments, is positioning India to play a decisive role in the global semiconductor value chain over the next decade.