For decades, India excelled at writing the software that powered the world’s computers but remained almost entirely dependent on other countries for the chips inside them. Every smartphone, fighter aircraft, satellite, electric vehicle, telecom network and artificial intelligence system relied on semiconductors designed and manufactured largely outside India’s borders.

That dependence has become one of the country’s biggest strategic vulnerabilities.

Today, India is attempting to change that.

How the India Semiconductor Mission Began

What began as an industrial policy is steadily evolving into a national technology mission—one that seeks not merely to manufacture chips, but to build an ecosystem spanning design, fabrication, advanced packaging, materials, equipment and skilled talent. If successful, it could reshape India’s manufacturing landscape and strengthen its position in a global technology race increasingly defined by semiconductor capabilities.

The launch of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) marked a turning point. Rather than offering isolated incentives, the government adopted a mission-driven approach aimed at creating an end-to-end semiconductor ecosystem. The objective extends beyond attracting investment; it is about ensuring technological sovereignty in a world where access to chips increasingly determines economic resilience and national security.

The Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme has been an important catalyst. We are seeing some early success. At the same time, there is also an evolutionary factor at play. Engineers who moved abroad 20–25 years ago are now at a stage where they have both the experience and financial capacity to take entrepreneurial risks. Many also want to return to India–says Neelkanth Mishra, in an interview with EdPublica.

Why semiconductors matter

Semiconductors are often described as the “brains” of modern electronics, but their strategic significance runs far deeper.

Every sector that governments now classify as critical—artificial intelligence, defence, space, telecommunications, medical devices, automobiles, renewable energy and industrial automation—depends on increasingly sophisticated chips.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed how vulnerable global supply chains had become. Factory shutdowns in one part of the world disrupted automobile production thousands of kilometres away. Geopolitical tensions further highlighted the risks of concentrating semiconductor manufacturing in only a handful of countries.

For India, which imports billions of dollars’ worth of electronic components every year, the lesson was unmistakable: technological ambition cannot rest entirely on imported hardware.

Building the foundation

Recognising this challenge, the government launched India Semiconductor Mission 1.0, backed by a financial incentive programme worth ₹76,000 crore. It represented India’s first coordinated attempt to build semiconductor manufacturing capabilities within the country.

The mission was designed to support multiple segments simultaneously:

>> silicon wafer fabrication plants;

>> assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP) facilities;

>> Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) units;

>> compound semiconductor manufacturing;

>> semiconductor design through the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme.

Rather than relying on a single mega-project, policymakers attempted to create an ecosystem in which manufacturing, design, packaging and supply chains could evolve together.

From policy announcements to factories

One of the biggest criticisms of India’s earlier electronics programmes was that announcements often outpaced execution.

This time, the picture is beginning to look different.

Approved semiconductor projects now represent cumulative investment commitments exceeding ₹1.64 lakh crore, spread across multiple states. According to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the approved portfolio now covers fabrication facilities, packaging plants and compound semiconductor manufacturing, reflecting a broader industrial base than initially envisioned.

The most visible milestone has been the commencement of commercial production at Micron Technology’s advanced semiconductor packaging facility in Gujarat, widely regarded as the first major operational success under the mission.

Several other large projects—including those led by Tata Electronics, Kaynes Semicon, and the Tata-PSMC semiconductor fabrication project at Dholera—have moved into advanced stages of construction and are expected to enter commercial production soon. Together, they represent India’s first serious attempt to establish domestic silicon manufacturing at scale.

Equally significant is the geographical spread.

Instead of concentrating semiconductor manufacturing in one industrial cluster, projects are now emerging across Gujarat, Rajasthan and other states, creating the beginnings of a distributed semiconductor manufacturing network.

Manufacturing is only one piece of the puzzle

Building chips requires far more than fabrication plants.

A modern semiconductor ecosystem depends on hundreds of specialised suppliers producing chemicals, gases, ultra-pure materials, precision equipment, packaging technologies and printed circuit boards (PCBs).

Recognising these gaps, the government has started extending policy support beyond chip fabrication.

A recent example is the foundation of advanced PCB manufacturing projects worth about ₹6,750 crore in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh. These facilities are expected to manufacture high-density multilayer PCBs—including advanced 20-22 layer boards—that India has traditionally imported in large quantities.

Reducing imports of such critical components strengthens the broader electronics manufacturing ecosystem while creating domestic capabilities that extend well beyond semiconductor fabrication itself.

Design remains India’s strongest advantage

While fabrication receives most public attention, India already possesses one major strength: semiconductor design.

Thousands of engineers employed by global companies already design chips from Indian engineering centres. The challenge has been converting this design talent into domestic intellectual property.

The Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme attempts to bridge that gap.

According to government data, the programme has supported dozens of chip design projects, enabled successful tape-outs, encouraged patent filings and provided advanced chip-design tools to more than 100 companies while training a growing pool of specialised semiconductor engineers.

Moving from outsourced engineering services towards Indian-owned semiconductor intellectual property could prove just as significant as establishing fabrication plants.

The next chapter: ISM 2.0

If the first phase focused on attracting semiconductor manufacturing, the next phase aims to deepen India’s role across the entire value chain.

Announced in the Union Budget 2026-27, India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 shifts attention towards areas where India still depends heavily on imports.

The new phase proposes support for:

>> semiconductor manufacturing equipment;

>> specialty materials and chemicals;

>> indigenous semiconductor intellectual property;

>> advanced packaging technologies;

>> compound semiconductors;

>> industry-led research and training centres.

The underlying philosophy is straightforward: long-term self-reliance cannot be achieved by importing all the machinery, chemicals and specialised materials required to manufacture chips.

Instead, India aims to build capabilities throughout the production chain—from research laboratories to finished semiconductor products.

Recent reports indicate that the government is also preparing a substantially larger financial commitment for ISM 2.0 as it expands beyond manufacturing incentives into ecosystem development.

Strategic partnerships without strategic dependence

India’s semiconductor strategy has deliberately combined domestic capability building with international collaboration.

Leading companies from the United States, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea have become partners in India’s emerging semiconductor ecosystem, bringing technology, manufacturing expertise and investment.

This reflects a broader policy shift.

Rather than attempting complete technological isolation, India is seeking trusted international partnerships while gradually strengthening indigenous capabilities in manufacturing, design and supply chains.

In an increasingly fragmented global technology landscape, diversification itself has become a strategic asset.

The road ahead remains difficult

Despite visible progress, India’s semiconductor journey is still in its early stages.

Chip fabrication demands extraordinary precision, massive capital investments, reliable infrastructure and uninterrupted supplies of ultra-pure water, electricity and specialised materials. Success also depends on building a workforce capable of operating some of the world’s most sophisticated manufacturing facilities.

Moreover, semiconductor manufacturing is measured in decades, not election cycles.

Countries that dominate the industry today invested consistently over many years before becoming global leaders.

India therefore faces the challenge of maintaining policy continuity while ensuring that announced projects translate into commercially competitive production.

A larger national ambition

The significance of India’s semiconductor mission extends well beyond electronics manufacturing.

Every fabrication facility commissioned, every packaging unit established and every design company supported reduces import dependence, creates highly skilled employment and strengthens India’s position within global technology supply chains.

For a country seeking greater strategic autonomy, semiconductor capability is increasingly becoming as important as energy security or defence preparedness.

The first phase of the mission has established the initial building blocks. The second phase aims to strengthen the ecosystem beneath them.

Whether India ultimately becomes a major global semiconductor hub will depend not on a single factory or policy announcement, but on its ability to sustain investment, develop talent, encourage innovation and build an integrated value chain over the coming decade.

After years of watching the global semiconductor revolution from the sidelines, India has entered the race. The challenge now is to ensure that today’s investment commitments become tomorrow’s manufacturing capability—and eventually, technological leadership.

As Karnataka’s engineering admissions enter the counselling phase, questions over the KCET rank revision process have emerged after a CBSE student’s Class 12 marks were officially revised following the board’s revaluation. With the KCET option entry window closing on Monday, Bengaluru-based aspirant Sounak Nag says his rank continues to reflect his pre-revaluation CBSE marks despite being issued a revised marksheet by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), raising concerns that the delay could cost him a college seat.

Nag told EdPublica that he is not alone and that several other students whose marks were revised after revaluation are facing similar uncertainty. Since KCET ranks are calculated using a combination of entrance examination scores and Class 12 marks, revisions in board scores can alter a candidate’s position in the merit list and affect the colleges and courses for which they are eligible.

From Corrected Marks to Uncertainty in KCET Rank Revisions

Nag said his Class 12 marks increased after CBSE completed its official revaluation process. Based on the revised scores, he expected KEA to update his KCET rank. However, despite receiving the revised marksheet, the published rank list remained unchanged.

With the counselling process underway, he fears that the delay in reflecting his revised marks could affect his admission prospects.

CBSE’s 2026 Valuation Controversy

After CBSE’s official revaluation, Nag said he received higher marks in all five subjects. His case comes against the backdrop of concerns surrounding CBSE’s 2026 digital On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.

Following the declaration of the Class 12 results, students across the country reported discrepancies in evaluation, including allegations of missing answers, blank scanned pages and incorrect marking. The complaints prompted many candidates to apply for verification and revaluation of their answer scripts.

In several cases, the revaluation process resulted in revised marks, raising questions over the accuracy of the initial evaluation. While CBSE maintained that its evaluation process was robust overall, it acknowledged certain discrepancies and issued revised marksheets through its official revaluation mechanism. For students appearing for entrance examinations that factor in board marks, these revisions have created a fresh challenge when admission processes are already underway.

No Clarity on Rank Revision, Student Alleges

According to Nag, repeated attempts to contact the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) through its helpline numbers and official email addresses yielded no response. He later visited the KEA office in Malleswaram, where officials asked him to submit a written representation along with photocopies of his original and revised CBSE marksheets.

Nag said he complied with the request but was not given any written acknowledgement, and his KCET rank remained unchanged. As the option entry deadline approached, he visited the KEA office again seeking an update on his request. However, he said there was no clarity on whether his revised marks would be considered before counselling.

“I’ve submitted everything they asked for, but I still don’t know whether my revised marks will be reflected in my rank before counselling begins,” he told EdPublica.

The uncertainty comes amid an admissions cycle that has already witnessed multiple schedule changes in Karnataka. KEA postponed KCET counselling after the Higher Education Department delayed submitting the final seat matrix, with option entry eventually opening on June 20 and the process for NEET-qualified candidates beginning on June 22. Separately, the Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMEDK) extended its counselling registration deadline to June 12, while document verification is continuing until the end of June, pushing subsequent rounds of seat allotment into July. Against this backdrop, students whose board marks are officially revised after revaluation face added uncertainty, as delays in updating entrance ranks during the counselling process could directly affect their admission prospects.

Beyond One Student

Nag’s case raises a broader question about how admission authorities handle revised board examination marks once entrance rank lists have been published. While examination boards such as CBSE provide mechanisms to correct evaluation errors through verification and revaluation, students say there is little clarity on whether, and how quickly, those revisions are reflected in ongoing admission processes.

The issue also comes amid continued scrutiny of India’s examination system. In recent years, evaluation discrepancies, technical glitches, delayed results and irregularities in competitive examinations have exposed gaps in grievance redressal mechanisms. Nag’s experience adds another dimension to that debate: whether admission authorities have adequate procedures to ensure that officially revised academic records are reflected before counselling and seat allotment are completed.

EdPublica has received another international recognition after its Editor-in-Chief, Dipin Damodharan, won a 2024–25 Solutions Journalism Network Award for his reporting on Kerala’s renewable energy transition, published on EdPublica.com.

Dipin Damodharan has won the Second-Place Prize in the “Best of Solutions Journalism in News Articles (Small Newsroom)” category at the 2024-25 Solutions Journalism Network (SJN) Awards for his story, “Why Kerala Has Struggled to Replicate Perinjanam’s Solar Success.”

The award recognises impactful journalism that highlights credible responses to pressing social challenges. Dipin’s story examined the community-driven rooftop solar initiative in Perinjanam village in Kerala and explored the structural, financial, and policy challenges that have limited the replication of the model across the state.

The winners were selected by a panel of over four dozen international judges from around the world.

Describing this year’s award-winning entries, the Solutions Journalism Network said they “span issue areas and media formats. They come from around the globe, from outlets large and small. And most importantly, they represent an entirely different way of understanding news — not as a mechanism mainly for chronicling the world’s woes but also as a window into people’s creativity and resilience in trying to address them.”

The Solutions Journalism Network, a US-based organisation, is considered one of the world’s leading institutions promoting solutions-oriented reporting and constructive public-interest journalism.

The story was produced as part of the Earth Journalism Network (EJN) fellowship on renewable energy reporting. Through extensive field reporting, the article documented how a local community-led renewable energy initiative evolved into a successful decentralized solar model while also examining the gaps that continue to hinder broader adoption.

The SJN Awards honour journalism that combines rigorous reporting with an examination of responses to social, environmental, and governance challenges.

Dipin Damodharan is a journalist based in India and the Editor-in-Chief of EdPublica, an independent global media platform focusing on science, environment, education, and public-interest journalism.

The official announcement was published by the Solutions Journalism Network on its website.

Click here to read the award winning story.