New Delhi, September 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated SEMICON India 2026 in New Delhi on Wednesday, telling delegates that a second, $13.5 billion phase of the India Semiconductor Mission is now under way, backed by regulatory changes meant to draw in more international partners.
This is the fifth edition of the event. Modi welcomed the overseas delegations in attendance, saying, “I extend a special welcome to the guests who have come to India from abroad.”
He linked the semiconductor push to Vishwakarma Diwas, which fell on the same day, describing the coming together of traditional craft and modern manufacturing as “our inspiration for a self-reliant India, a Viksit Bharat.”
Chips now leaving Indian plants
Modi pointed to recent economic numbers to make his case: GDP growth of 7.8 per cent in the latest quarter, a 3,000-kilometre Dedicated Freight Corridor, and a sovereign rating upgrade from a Japanese credit rating agency. “India’s economy is growing, and on the other hand, the world’s trust in India is also increasing,” he said.
Semiconductor plants at Mohali and Surat are already in commercial production, he said, with Indian-made chips going out to buyers both inside the country and abroad. “Now our chips, coming out of India’s plants, have started reaching customers in the country and the world,” Modi said.
A $13.5 billion second phase
The government’s new phase of the Semiconductor Mission carries a price tag of $13.5 billion and comes with regulatory reforms aimed at making it easier for foreign companies to work with Indian partners.
Training and power to match the ambition
On skills, Modi cited a target of training one lakh engineering students for the sector, of whom 70,000 have already gone through the programme. “Such a large talent pool is, in a way, nothing less than a gold mine for all of you,” he told the gathering, and appealed to Indian researchers working overseas to return. “Young talents who are researching in India should come forward. The youth who are researching abroad should also join the development of advanced technologies in India,” he said.
He also referred to India’s expanding power capacity: more than 160 GW of solar power, private companies now allowed into nuclear energy, and small modular reactors being developed to run AI data centres and manufacturing units.
Modi closed by linking the semiconductor drive to India’s 75 years under the Constitution, framing the industry’s growth as part of the country’s contribution to the global supply chain “within a democratic framework.”