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Five years after the India Semiconductor Mission was approved with an outlay of ₹76,000 crore, the record is remarkable: twelve manufacturing units cleared, investment above ₹1.64 lakh crore, three plants already in commercial production and the country’s first chip fabrication plant due in 2028. A quieter scheme, the Design Linked Incentive, has backed two dozen young Indian companies that design chips rather than build them. For a country that until recently imported every chip it used, the Ministry of Electronics and IT has earned its credit.
What deserves attention is that the Mission was designed well, not just funded well. Committing a design to silicon for the first time costs a fortune in one go, and no startup can earn its way there gradually. The scheme put support precisely at that step.
I can speak to this directly, because my company was one of those awardees. Since then, InCore has taken five customer and partner chips all the way to silicon for motor control, smart electricity meters, smart doorbells and LiDAR-based sensing. Our processor designs run from tiny low-power controllers up to chips capable of running Linux.
These are practical, high-volume Indian products and that is precisely their significance. In such products, ownership of the design strengthens a company’s long-term capabilities, supports value creation in India and enables each unit sold to contribute to import substitution.
This is why Semicon 2.0, approved in July with an outlay of ₹1,27,500 crore, is an important next step. Alongside equipment, materials and research, it recognises design IP as a pillar in its own right. Design IP is the blueprint of the processor inside a chip, licensed, much like software, by whoever owns it. By recognising both manufacturing capacity and design ownership, the Mission supports a more complete and self-reliant semiconductor ecosystem.
A large share of a chip’s value comes from its design. Indian-owned design IP enables more of that value, knowledge and commercial opportunity to remain within the country throughout the life of a product. It also strengthens technological assurance in strategic sectors such as defence, space, telecom and the power grid. Manufacturing capacity gives India resilience, while design ownership deepens domestic capability and makes the ecosystem stronger. Together, they advance India’s goal of achieving 70 to 75 per cent semiconductor self-sufficiency by 2029.
Semicon 2.0 provides a strong platform for India’s design capabilities to grow alongside its manufacturing base. Home-grown processor designs, reference products and chip-design software can reinforce one another, creating wider commercial opportunities for Indian companies and greater choice for electronics manufacturers.
India’s growing base of competitive chip designs can support a vibrant domestic marketplace, making it easier for companies to discover, evaluate and license Indian technology. Shared platforms and clear commercial pathways can connect designers with product companies and help successful designs reach a wider market.
The Mission’s support for Indian designs is also creating the foundation for their wider adoption. Reference products, early commercial deployments and participation by public-sector and private-sector electronics companies can help proven Indian designs move steadily from development to large-scale use.
India’s strength in software and chip design also positions the country to contribute to the next generation of chip-design tools. Open chip architectures and AI-assisted design are creating new possibilities, and progress in this area can benefit every part of the semiconductor ecosystem through the 2030s.
Five years ago, India’s ability to design and manufacture its own chips was still an emerging ambition. The India Semiconductor Mission has helped turn that ambition into working silicon, commercial products and expanding domestic capability. With design recognised as a central pillar under Semicon 2.0, India is well placed to build a semiconductor ecosystem in which innovation, manufacturing and ownership grow together.
