Next few years to witness big growth in electronics, semiconductors, AI: Vaishnaw

The Union government is set to launch ‘Semicon 2.0’ aimed at making India a global hub not only for manufacturing but also for design, machinery and talent, the Union Minister said.

The Semicon 2.0 will be totally reverse of the Semicon 1 that focussed on getting manufacturing facilities in India, Vaishnaw said. Under Semicon 1, 10 semiconductor plants are coming up in India. The first plant started commercial production in Sanand on Saturday and the second plant will start the commercial production very soon, he said.

The Union Minister said that by guaranteeing tax incentives until 2047, the government has provided policy stability.

“Have you heard of any other country which has given policy certainty? Policy certainty is something which is so very important. Till 2047 we have tax incentives for data centers, and that means the entire world’s data can now come to India. Our strong IT industry, which provided software services in the past, can now provide AI- based services. The foundation for bringing the entire data of the world to India has been laid by our prime minister in the budget, where incentives up to 2047 have been given for setting up data centers,” he said.

“I request Gujarat also to take this big opportunity, because you have surplus power. You have clean power, and commitment. The willpower is more important than the clean power and it is the willpower that makes things move and that is there in the government of Gujarat. So take this opportunity of bringing data centers to Gujarat,” he said.

The estimated 2 million talent gap will be there as the silicon industry globally moves from its current 800-900 billion to 1 trillion to 2 trillion level. “This 2 million gap has to be filled from India. That 2 million means opportunities for our youth, that 2 million gap means opportunities for our students. That 2 million gap means that is where our youth will get that next huge wave of employment which will come in the semiconductor industry,” he said.

Under Semicon 2.0, the Union Minister outlined priorities including promoting deep-tech startups so that companies like Qualcomm, Broadcom, and NVIDIA can be nurtured within India through a robust design ecosystem. India will develop not just chips, but also machinery, materials, and the testing ecosystem for chip manufacturing. Drawing lessons from Japan’s model, India is building a strong foundation with a 20-year vision, he said.

India has trained 85,000 engineers in just four years, against the target of 10 years. Currently, students at 35 universities across the country are designing chips. This network will be expanded from 315 to 500 universities, ensuring that youth from every state can find employment in this high-tech sector, he said.

Organised by the state government’s Department of Science and Technology, the conference carries the theme ‘Gujarat: India’s Silicon Gateway’ — aimed at fostering strategic collaboration between high-tech chip manufacturers and local industry.

Describing the conference as the “right job at the right time,” Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said that Prime Minister Modi’s inauguration of the Micron plant at Sanand has sounded the trumpet of a technological revolution for the country. He added that this conference — launched immediately after that historic milestone — will demonstrate the state’s readiness to build a semiconductor ecosystem, attract global partners, and fulfil the vision of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat through research, innovation, and supply chain localisation.

“Dholera SIR is no longer merely a blueprint — it is set to become India’s Semicon City. World-class infrastructure, plug-and-play facilities, and modern logistics have been established at Dholera and Sanand for the semiconductor sector,” the CM stated.

He noted that Gujarat, driven by sector-specific policy-making, technology-led development, and ease of doing business under PM Modi’s leadership, has become the first choice for global companies and investors and is set to become India’s ‘Gateway to Silicon’.

Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi said that Sanand is on its way to becoming India’s new Silicon Valley. He stated that Gujarat is today investors’ first choice because the state guarantees the highest return on investment in the country. He assured investors that investment made in Gujarat today will remain secure for the next 10 generations.

Science and Technology Minister Arjun Modhwadia said that when the world faced the challenges of COVID-19 and supply chains for critical components broke down, semiconductors emerged as a pivotal system. “The halt in semiconductor production severely impacted many industries worldwide. Treating this major challenge as an opportunity, PM Modi decided to make India a semiconductor hub,” he said.

He noted that there is still a great deal of ground to cover in this sector, and that under CM Bhupendra Patel’s leadership, Gujarat is moving towards becoming a knowledge hub.

CM’s meetings

In one-to-one meetings held between Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and various industry leaders attending the conference, productive discussions took place on establishing R&D centres, memory module facilities, power chip manufacturing units, and specialty chemical facilities in the semiconductor sector. Patel provided a detailed overview of the ecosystem in place for semiconductor industries in Gujarat — including Dholera and Sanand — and elaborated on the state government’s proactive approach. Among those who met the CM in these one-to-one sessions were Meghav Mehta MD of Deepak Nitrite Ltd; Dato Seri Lee Hung Lung Chairman of Malaysia-based Hotai Electronics; Makoto Terada MD of Suchi-ROHM Semiconductor India, along with founder Ashok Mehta; Rajeev Gautam of Horiba India; and Radhika Viswanathan COO of Applied Materials.

MoUs signed

Hotayi Industries – Investment for manufacturing memory modules at GIDC Sanand

HORIBA – Establishment of an R&D Centre in Ahmedabad for semiconductor-grade mass flow meters and advanced materials

Hyspec Chemicals Private Limited – Investment for manufacturing semiconductor-grade speciality chemicals

Kiansh / GnBS – Investment for setting up Gas Abatement Systems

-Suchi Semicon and ROHM for strategic collaboration

-Kaynes Technology SpectraGaze for strategic collaboration

-NIELIT (National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology) for setting up a NIELIT Campus dedicated to advanced electronics and semiconductor courses at ITI Chandkheda

-Establishment of a ChipIN Extension Centre and CoE in VLI design by CDAC Bangalore in Gujarat

-Project Semicon Shield – An initiative by SP-Ahmedabad aimed at securing and strengthening semiconductor ecosystem growth