Space & Physics
Inside India’s Semiconductor Push: ‘This Is a 100-Year Bet’
This is not an industry that rewards speed alone; it demands persistence, coordination, and long-term commitment. In semiconductors, success is not measured in years, but built over generations.
In a conversation with Education Publica Editor Dipin Damodharan, leading semiconductor researchers Swaroop Ganguly and Udayan Ganguly delve into the science, strategy, and systemic challenges shaping India’s chip ambitions. Both are professors in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Swaroop Ganguly currently leads SemiX—the institute’s semiconductor initiative that brings together expertise across disciplines to advance India’s capabilities in the sector. Udayan Ganguly previously headed SemiX. India’s semiconductor journey, they argue, is only just beginning. The foundations— policy, infrastructure, talent, and partnerships—are being put in place, but the real challenge lies ahead. This is not an industry that rewards speed alone; it demands persistence, coordination, and long-term commitment. In semiconductors, success is not measured in years, but built over generations. Edited excerpts
India Semiconductor Mission: ‘This Is a 100-Year Bet’
India formally launched the semiconductor mission in 2021. Five years on, where does the country stand today?
Swaroop Ganguly:
The India Semiconductor Mission really began taking shape around 2021, but for a couple of years it was largely policy without visible industry participation. The turning point came around 2023 with the approval of the Micron packaging facility. That was important not just as a project, but as a signal—that global companies were willing to invest in India.
Following that, we saw a series of announcements, particularly in packaging and assembly. Now, packaging is not the highest value-add segment in the semiconductor value chain, but it is still a very important step. It generates employment, it helps build supporting capabilities, and it allows the ecosystem to start forming.
But the real centrepiece—the crown of the semiconductor ecosystem—is the fabrication facility, or fab. That is where silicon wafers are actually processed into chips. We now have at least one major fab announcement, and that is a very significant milestone.
At the same time, we should be careful not to judge progress too quickly. This is not an industry where outcomes can be evaluated in five years. The correct time horizon is at least 10 to 15 years.
Why did India take so long to enter this space, especially given its strength in technology?
Swaroop Ganguly:
It’s not entirely accurate to say India never tried. There were attempts in the past. In fact, in the 1980s, India had a silicon fabrication facility in Chandigarh that was not very far behind global standards at that time.
Unfortunately, that facility was destroyed in a fire, and that event set India back significantly—by decades, in fact. But the loss was not just infrastructure. It was also talent. Many of the people who were working there moved abroad and went on to become leaders in global semiconductor companies.
When you lose something like that, you don’t just lose a facility—you lose the continuity of knowledge, mentorship, and ecosystem-building. That has long-term consequences.
After that, the global semiconductor industry moved very fast, and re-entering it became increasingly difficult. It required a level of policy support and industrial coordination that did not exist at the time. That is what has changed with the India Semiconductor Mission.
How should we interpret the progress under India Semiconductor Mission 1.0 (ISM 1.0)? Has it delivered what was expected?
Swaroop Ganguly:
I think it would be a mistake to look at ISM 1.0 as something that should have delivered results within five years. This industry demands a long-term, patient approach.
ISM 1.0 has led to the approval of multiple manufacturing-related units, most of them in packaging. That is actually a sensible place to begin. Countries like Taiwan and South Korea also started their semiconductor journeys with packaging before moving up the value chain.
There has also been progress in specialty areas such as compound semiconductors, which are used in applications like power electronics, renewable energy, and communications.
So overall, I would say the direction is correct. But the success of ISM should be evaluated over a much longer period—10 to 15 years at least.
So India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0 is not a reset, but an expansion?
Swaroop Ganguly:
Exactly. ISM 2.0 should be seen as an expansion of scope.
In ISM 1.0, the focus was largely on attracting manufacturing—fabs and packaging units. Now, the thinking is evolving towards building a more complete ecosystem.
That means looking at materials, chemicals, gases, equipment, and all the ancillary industries that support semiconductor manufacturing. At the same time, there is increasing emphasis on research, innovation, education, and training.
This is important because semiconductors are not a one-time investment. As we often say, this is not a bandwagon you jump onto—it’s a treadmill.
What do you mean by that analogy?
Swaroop Ganguly:
The treadmill analogy simply means that once you enter this industry, you have to keep moving. If you stop, you fall off.
Udayan Ganguly:
Yes, and the reason is very simple. The industry evolves continuously. Every couple of years, chips become more powerful, more efficient, more densely packed.
If you don’t keep up with that pace of innovation, your products become uncompetitive. Unlike many other industries, you cannot just build a plant and continue producing the same thing for decades.
For a layperson, what does this “semiconductor moment” actually mean for India?
Udayan Ganguly:
Think about everything you do today—medicine, education, transportation, entertainment. All of it runs on semiconductors.
Now imagine that every time you engage in any of these activities, you are effectively paying someone else for that underlying technology.
You go to a doctor—you are paying a semiconductor fee.
You drive a car—you are paying a semiconductor fee.
You watch a movie—you are paying a semiconductor fee.
So the question is: can a country continue to grow while constantly paying for the technological backbone of its economy?
So this is fundamentally about control over technology?
Udayan Ganguly:
Absolutely.
If India does not control semiconductors to some extent, we are basically fighting a losing battle. This is not just about manufacturing chips—it is about controlling the substrate on which modern society operates.
And this is not a short-term project. This is a 100-year bet. Even building meaningful capability will take at least 30 years.
What are the biggest challenges India faces in this journey?
Udayan Ganguly:
There are three core challenges: technology, talent, and governance.
On technology, the reality is that only a handful of companies globally have access to cutting-edge capabilities. These are not technologies that can simply be purchased at cost.
So India will have to start with slightly older technologies, which is perfectly fine. That is how most countries begin.
On talent, it is not just about having engineers—it is about having deep know-how. The ability to solve problems, innovate, and adapt.
And on governance, this is not a free-market industry. It requires sustained policy support and coordination. Without that, it cannot take off.
What role do startups and academia play in this ecosystem?
Swaroop Ganguly:
They are central to innovation.
India has had design centres of global semiconductor companies for decades. But what we have not had is a large number of products that are designed, owned, and commercialised by Indian companies.
That is where startups and academia come in.
Innovation typically emerges from these spaces—either from academic research translating into startups, or from experienced professionals building new companies.
Can startups play a role in manufacturing as well?
Swaroop Ganguly:
Manufacturing is much more capital-intensive, so it is difficult for startups to enter that space in the conventional sense.
However, there are opportunities in specialised areas—materials, processes, equipment components—where startups can contribute.
Academia also plays a critical role, particularly in advancing research that can feed into industry.
Is there a missing link in India’s semiconductor ecosystem today?
Udayan Ganguly:
Yes—R&D infrastructure.
Globally, there are dedicated semiconductor research centres where new ideas can be tested at scale without disrupting commercial manufacturing.
These centres act as a bridge between academia and industry.
India needs similar facilities. Without them, it becomes difficult to translate research into real-world applications.
What about talent—are we producing enough skilled people?
Udayan Ganguly:
We have strong core capability, but we need to scale significantly.
To meet the demands of a domestic semiconductor ecosystem, we probably need to increase our talent pool by at least ten times.
And this is no longer just about selecting the best candidates. It is about building a pipeline—training, education, and capacity-building across institutions.
Is semiconductor engineering limited to electronics?
Swaroop Ganguly:
Not at all. That is a common misconception.
Semiconductor manufacturing is highly interdisciplinary. It involves physics, chemistry, materials science, and mechanical engineering.
For example, consider a thermal processing step in fabrication. A wafer can be heated from room temperature to over 1000°C in a matter of seconds and then cooled rapidly. That involves complex thermal and mechanical engineering.
So the opportunities extend far beyond traditional electronics.
Who are the key stakeholders in building this ecosystem?
Swaroop Ganguly:
It essentially comes down to three groups: academia, industry, and government.
These three must work together very closely. Without that collaboration, the ecosystem cannot develop.
Government provides policy and support. Industry drives manufacturing and commercialisation. Academia contributes research, talent, and innovation.
Does India need to increase its R&D spending?
Swaroop Ganguly:
Spending is already increasing, which is a positive sign.
But equally important is how that money is used. There are global models where competing companies collaborate on early-stage research, pooling resources and working with academia.
Such models can significantly improve the effectiveness of R&D investment.
Finally, are you optimistic about India’s semiconductor journey?
Udayan Ganguly:
Yes, broadly.
The policy direction is strong, and the incentives are competitive. But this is not something that will succeed automatically.
It requires sustained effort over decades.
Swaroop Ganguly:
Exactly. The direction is right, but the time horizon is long. This is not a sprint—it is a marathon.
Space & Physics
How Scientists Traced the Flow of Matter Around a Dead Star Using X-rays
By studying changes in X-ray signals from Centaurus X-3, researchers at Bengaluru’s Raman Research Institute have found evidence of an unusual way in which matter reaches a neutron star. The discovery could change how scientists explain the radiation coming from this distant system.
When a massive star dies, its core can collapse into an extremely dense object called a neutron star. Despite being only about the size of a city, it can have a mass comparable to that of the Sun. Its powerful gravity can pull matter away from a nearby companion star, releasing energy in the form of X-rays as the material falls towards it.
Scientists at Bengaluru’s Raman Research Institute (RRI) have studied these X-ray signals from Centaurus X-3, a star system about 24,000 light-years from Earth. By examining changes in the signals, the researchers identified a stream of matter flowing towards the neutron star and found evidence of a rotating disk of material around it. This is an unusual finding because such disks are not commonly expected in this type of star system. The discovery could help scientists better understand how matter moves around neutron stars and how these distant objects produce X-rays.
Star That Pulls in Matter
Centaurus X-3 is in the constellation Centaurus. It belongs to a class of systems known as high-mass X-ray binaries. These systems contain a neutron star and a massive companion star held together by gravity.
A neutron star forms when the core of a massive star collapses at the end of its life. It packs roughly the Sun’s mass into a sphere only about the size of a city. Its gravity is so strong that it can pull in material from a nearby companion star. As this material falls towards the neutron star, it releases enormous amounts of energy, including X-rays. Scientists study this radiation to understand how the material behaves and how the system works.
Centaurus X-3 is also a pulsar. Its neutron star rotates and sends out radiation from regions near its magnetic poles. As the star spins, these beams sweep across space. When a beam passes an observing satellite, the satellite detects a pulse of radiation, much as a lighthouse produces a repeating flash as it turns. These regular pulses provide scientists with a way to study the neutron star and its surroundings.
What the Changing Signals Revealed
The radiation from Centaurus X-3 does not come only from the neutron star itself. Some of it interacts with nearby material, including the surface of the companion star, gas flowing away from it and matter surrounding the neutron star. This material absorbs radiation and emits it again. Scientists call this secondary radiation.
Changes in this radiation can help researchers work out what is happening around the neutron star. However, Centaurus X-3 is so far away that telescopes cannot clearly distinguish its surrounding structures. It appears as a single point of light. Scientists must therefore piece together the system’s structure from the signals they receive.
Earlier observations had shown that the intensity of certain secondary X-ray emission lines changed as the neutron star rotated. An emission line is a feature in a spectrum that can reveal information about the material producing or interacting with the radiation. A research team led by Kinjal Roy of RRI examined four such emission lines in detail. The researchers found that the structure producing these changes must be rotating along with the neutron star.
The pattern helped them identify the likely source which is a stream of matter moving towards the neutron star.
Following the stream of matter
This stream is part of a process called accretion, in which a compact object draws in material from its surroundings. In Centaurus X-3, the stream carries matter from an accretion disk towards the neutron star. The disk is a rotating structure of gas and other material that moves around the star before being drawn inwards. The neutron star’s magnetic field then guides the incoming matter towards its magnetic poles.
The stream also changes what an observing satellite sees. As it moves around the neutron star, it can come between the satellite and the star, partially blocking the direct radiation. When this happens, the primary X-ray signal weakens. At the same time, radiation from the stream itself becomes stronger in the observed signal.
The researchers used these changing signals to connect the observed variations to the movement of matter around the neutron star. The evidence for an accretion stream also points to an accretion disk feeding it. This matters because scientists generally expect high-mass X-ray binaries to gather material in a different way.
Why an accretion disk matters
In many high-mass X-ray binaries, a neutron star captures gas directly from the stream of material blown away by its companion star. This is known as stellar-wind accretion. An accretion disk involves a different arrangement: material gathers into a rotating structure before flowing towards the neutron star. The findings from Centaurus X-3 indicate that this disk-based process is taking place in a system where it is not generally expected.
That difference matters when scientists calculate how the system produces and releases radiation. If their models leave out the disk, they may fail to account for some of the radiation coming from the surrounding material.
“Accretion disk is not expected to occur in [HMXBs] So, if an accretion disk is forming in this system, emission models have to be modified,” Roy said in the Department of Science and Technology’s announcement. He added that future models of Centaurus X-3 would need to account for radiation from the disk.
The research does not mean that scientists have directly photographed the disk. Instead, they have used the changing X-ray signals to infer the presence and behaviour of structures that remain too distant to resolve clearly. Published in The Astrophysical Journal, the study adds to the understanding of Centaurus X-3, one of the most widely studied binary pulsars. It also shows how small changes in radiation can reveal the movement of matter around objects that are otherwise beyond the reach of direct observation.
By identifying the flow responsible for the changing signals, the researchers have provided a more detailed picture of how this neutron star draws in material. That picture will help scientists refine their models of Centaurus X-3 and examine whether similar processes occur in other high-mass X-ray binaries.
Space & Physics
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Space & Physics
A Dead Star Feeds Off Planet Formed From Its Ashes
It adds to a known coterie of planets now found orbiting dead stars, astronomers are busy studying to spot signs of life.
A planet orbiting once every 4 days around a white dwarf star HS 0209+0832 – about 270 light years in the direction of the constellation Pisces – is steadily losing its atmosphere to its host star. While many stars in solar systems beyond our own often feed on their planets, this particular star feeds on its own ashes.
The gaseous planet HS 0209+0832 b was discovered in 2024, when the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, a NASA space telescope, found it orbiting the white dwarf star over the course of four days. The new study followed through with detailed observations from TESS data, NASA’s space-based Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer, in addition to the ESO’s mountain-based Very Large Telescope, to study the star’s atmosphere and in turn inferring some chemistry occurring in the planet.
In a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy on Monday and funded by NASA, European Research Council, Fundación Occident and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, an international team of astronomers have reported imprints of niobium, a heavy element, in the atmosphere of a white dwarf star.
Astronomers predict the transiting young planet around the dead star is supplying that niobium back to its host. The sighting is evidence of a “second generation” planet, one of many candidates identified over several years, manifesting in a myriad different ways from spent gas ejected in the wake of stellar deaths.
It adds to a known coterie of planets now found orbiting dead stars, astronomers are busy studying to spot signs of life.
What are white dwarf stars?
White dwarves are an exotic stars, and are all that’s left off giant stars shedding their large gaseous skin in violent deaths. Our sun is destined one day to transform into a white dwarf, but only after swelling in size some five billion years from now to become a red giant when it will eclipse past the earth’s orbit. It would take several million years after that for the red giant sun to shed its gaseous exterior to become a white dwarf.
Planets if any, found orbiting these dead stars may have likely migrated from the new solar system’s outer reaches. All that’s left off the progenitor star’s past are imprints of light metals and other elements on the white dwarf’s atmosphere. Such planets have previously been spotted orbiting pulsars, a kind of neutron star, back in 1992. In fact, its discovery had marked the first ever detection of any planet orbiting a star beyond our sun.
In five billion years, our sun will evolve to become a red giant star. Credit: Svitlana Leonidivna Malchenko
Sighting niobium
Elements such as niobium don’t typically form in the core of stars like our sun. Chemical production usually limits to elements lighter than or until iron, with its 26 protons and 30 neutrons. Beyond that, slamming an extra proton or neutron will cause those to split, leaving iron to be the last element to be directly forged.
Niobium, with 41 protons and 52 neutrons, is thought to be born after absorbing slow passing neutrons when the red giant star dies to form a white dwarf star. This niobium hitches a ride along with rest of the contents of the red giant star, farther into the outer reaches of the system after the formation of the white dwarf.
These contents could create a new disc of circumstellar material with dust and gas that could condense one day to form new planets. The “second generation” planet found orbiting the white dwarf star from the new study, could have been born this way.
Alternatively, it may have been a planet in the outskirts like Neptune, migrating inwards, and enriching itself with niobium-rich star material.
Either way, the planet got too close to its host star, which is irradiating its newfound niobium-rich atmosphere, stripping it away and devouring it.
While it’s likely not a candidate planet for life as we know it to be found, it’s discovery can help ascertain how such worlds are formed in the aftermath of a star’s various phases of evolution.
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