India’s semiconductor journey has entered a decisive phase. Over the past few years, a combination of policy initiatives, targeted government incentives, and strategic global partnerships has created strong momentum for domestic chip manufacturing. Announcements around fabrication plants, packaging facilities and semiconductor investments have positioned India as an emerging player in the global electronics supply chain.

In an interview with TimesTech, Abhishek Agarwal, President – Judge India & Global Delivery at The Judge Group, spoke about why Edge AI and semiconductor innovation are critical to India’s long-term AI ambitions. He highlighted the importance of AI systems built for Indian realities, semiconductor self-reliance, and scalable edge infrastructure that can support manufacturing, healthcare, telecom, agriculture, and smart city transformation beyond urban centres.

Semiconductors sit at the centre of modern industry. India’s ambition to build domestic capability in this sector is not a vanity project. It is a strategic necessity. Four years after the launch of the ₹76,000 crore India Semiconductor Mission, the government has moved to the next phase. ISM 2.0, announced in the Union Budget 2026–27, is meant to shift the programme from attracting fabs and packaging plants to building equipment, materials, design intellectual property and supply-chain depth.

India may allocate a larger capital incentive package for the second edition of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM 2.0), exceeding the previous $10 billion outlay, according to Ashok Chandak, president of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association.

India is giving its semiconductor mission a major upgrade, considering extending the second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) to as long as 12 years.The goal? Build stronger local chip supply chains and help India stand out in the global tech race.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) tweeted on microblogging platform X that the meeting took place on May 19, and included discussions with Japanese and Indian executives linked to the company’s planned semiconductor and precision components facility in Tiruvallur, which involves a proposed investment of ₹1,980 crore, according to news agency ANI.

Consumers are likely to witness high memory chip prices as no significant capacity addition is in the pipeline over the next 12-18 months, said Ashok Chandak, President, India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) on Wednesday.