‘Three more semiconductor plants to start operations by the end of 2026’: IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday shared that three more semiconductor plants under the Semicon Mission 1.0 will be operational by the end of 2026.

Minister Vaishnaw said it a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the US-based Micron’s Assembly, Test, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) facility in Sanand, Gujarat.

Of the ten plants cleared under Semicon 1.0, one has already begun manufacturing memory chips, and three more are expected to come online by the end of the year.

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Three more semiconductor plants to operate soon, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

 “The promise he (PM Modi) made to the country that the semiconductor industry has to be brought to India, he fulfilled that promise. This is the first step. Very soon, the second plant will also go into commercial production, and after that, two more plants will go into production this year. In other words, four of the ten plants that have been approved will be inaugurated in 2026,” Vaishnaw said at the inauguration of the Gujarat Semiconnect Conference 2026 in Gandhinagar.

The Minister said that artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and electronics manufacturing will power India’s next phase of growth. “We are at a moment when India has progressed from learning to walk to learning to run in the global technology race,” he remarked.

Referring to the launch of the Micron Technology plant, he said it has earned India a distinct position on the global semiconductor map.

Following the progress under Semicon 1.0, the government is preparing to roll out Semicon 2.0, aimed at transforming India into a global hub not only for chip manufacturing but also for design, equipment, and skilled talent.

He emphasised that the central focus of Semicon 2.0 will be building a strong design ecosystem to enable deep-tech startups to create the next Qualcomm, Broadcom, or NVIDIA.

Stressing the importance of developing a complete semiconductor value chain within the country, he said India must establish a robust ecosystem spanning materials, machinery, equipment, testing, and validation to lay a strong foundation for the next two decades. He also pointed out that India can help address the global talent shortage in the semiconductor sector.

Citing projections of a worldwide shortfall of two million specialists, he said India is well-positioned to bridge the gap.

The country met its target of training 85,000 engineers in just four years, ahead of the original ten-year goal.

Currently, students across 315 universities are designing real chips, and this network will expand to 500 institutions to ensure young people from every state can access opportunities in the high-tech sector.

The Minister further noted that infrastructure investment commitments worth $250 billion and $17 billion in deep-tech venture capital funding have been secured. With tax incentives assured until 2047, the government has ensured long-term policy stability, paving the way for India’s IT industry to move beyond software services and emerge as a global leader in AI-driven services.

He added that Gujarat, with its surplus power and clean energy resources, is well placed to establish data centres and help position India as a global data hub.

Over the past decade, India’s electronics manufacturing sector has expanded from ₹2 lakh crore to ₹12 lakh crore and now provides employment to 2.5 million people, he said.

In his address, Bhupendra Patel said Gujarat has emerged as a frontrunner in semiconductor and chip manufacturing, driven by policy stability, transparency, ease of doing business, and strong political will.

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