India has emerged as a global hub for semiconductor design and R&D

India has emerged as a global hub for semiconductor design and R&D

The semiconductor development strategy is inspired by Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India, Make for the world. As part of this strategy, India aims to develop a complete ecosystem, ranging from R&D, design, fabrication, assembly, testing, packaging and module manufacturing and talent development.

The Government recognises that R&D is critical for building a strong semiconductor ecosystem. As a foundational industry, advancements in semiconductor R&D drive innovation, cost efficiency and global competitiveness. It also ensures a high product performance and reliability in this rapidly evolving technology sector.

Semicon India Programme

The Government launched the ‘Semicon India Programme’ for the development of semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country. Following are salient achievements under this Programme:

To complement manufacturing, the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme promotes design, development, and deployment of semiconductor products such as Integrated Circuits (ICs), Chipsets, System on Chips (SoCs), Systems & IP Cores.

It also provides infrastructure support for chip design to eligible applicants, including access to EDA tools, IP cores, and fabrication facilities.

Building on the success of Semicon India Programme, Union Budget 2026-27 announced India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 for equipment and materials, design full stack, Indian IP and fortify supply chains.

Global Capability Centers (GCCs)

As per Industry estimates, India has emerged as a global hub for semiconductor design and R&D. India hosts about 7% of the world’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) of Semiconductor domain and employs nearly 20% of the global semiconductor chip design workforce.

Indian engineers working in these GCCs contribute to the design, verification, and development of cutting-edge semiconductor technologies. Our engineers are now designing the advanced nodes including 2 nm chips and other globally competitive products.

Innovation through dedicated Schemes

To strengthen the innovation ecosystem, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) is implementing two complementary initiatives:

Supports academic research, industry collaboration and translational research across priority areas such as AI, deep tech, climate, health, semiconductors and advanced materials, with an outlay of ₹50,000 crore over five years

With an allocation of ₹1 lakh crore, the scheme supports late-stage 79 technology development and commercialisation focusing on critical technologies such as AI, quantum computing, robotics and biotechnology

Together, ANRF and RDI address the full innovation pipeline, from knowledge creation in academia to industrial deployment and commercialization.

Specific Projects supported by MeitY

Additionally, MeitY supports R&D projects across academic institutions, research organizations, and startups in areas of semiconductors such as nanotechnology, semiconductor materials, processes, chip design, and IP cores.

Notable initiatives include:

1. Project titled “Next Generation AMOLED Displays, OLED Lighting and OPV Products” (IIT Madras)

2. Gallium Nitride (GaN) Ecosystem Initiative-GEECI (IISc Bengaluru)

3. Indian Nanoelectronics Users’ Programme (INUP)

Furthermore, MeitY’s dedicated society, the Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET), continues to advance research in semiconductor materials and allied domains.

This information was submitted by Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Shri Jitin Prasada in Rajya Sabha on 13.03.2026.

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