India is gearing up for a dramatic leap forward in global technology, with the country’s first domestically produced semiconductor chip scheduled to debut in 2025. The announcement was made by Ashwini Vaishnau, Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology. World Economic Forum in Davos.
“Our first ‘Made in India’ chips will be rolled out this year and we are currently looking at the next steps where we can bring in Indian equipment manufacturers, materials manufacturers and designers. We need to go from 100% purity to 100% purity levels. This requires major transformational changes in processes, and the industry is working to achieve this,” Vaishnow told Media. told.
The first chips were originally scheduled to be released in December 2024, but are now expected to arrive around August or September 2025. A semiconductor manufacturing plant supported by Taiwan’s Powerchip and India’s Tata is also scheduled to start operating in 2026. .
The first set of “Made in India” chips will reportedly utilize a 28nm process. While this is a big step forward, it’s still a long way from the cutting-edge 2nm processes being developed by the world’s most advanced chipmakers. However, these 28nm chips are already widely used in a variety of industries, including automotive, consumer electronics, and the Internet of Things (IoT). It is also applied in 4G transceivers, mobile phone upgrades, entertainment devices, etc.
India is aggressively expanding its semiconductor industry, driven by soaring global demand for chips and the government’s vision to position the country as a reliable alternative to suppliers from China and Taiwan. In particular, the government has set up India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) as a separate business unit under Digital India Corporation. ISM has administrative and financial autonomy and is tasked with developing and executing long-term strategies for developing semiconductor and display manufacturing facilities and fostering a robust semiconductor design ecosystem. I am.
There are also plans to attract significant foreign investment to strengthen the country’s semiconductor sector. NXP Semiconductors plans to invest more than $1 billion to expand its research and development operations in the country, while Analog Devices is partnering with the Tata Group to explore semiconductor manufacturing opportunities in the country. Additionally, Micron Technology is building a $2.75 billion assembly and testing plant in Gujarat, which is expected to create 5,000 direct jobs and 15,000 local jobs. .
