India’s Semiconductor Push Paves Path to Digital Sovereignty, Say Industry Experts

In what is being seen as a pivotal stride toward self-reliance in critical technologies, experts have hailed India’s semiconductor mission as the foundation for achieving full digital sovereignty. From mobile networks and satellites to CCTV cameras and smart devices, semiconductor chips are at the heart of all modern electronics, and India’s push to manufacture them locally is gaining momentum.

Speaking at the ‘Sovereign Tech for India's Digital Transformation’ event hosted by ASSOCHAM, Sunil Gupta, Chair of ASSOCHAM’s National Council on Datacenters, stressed the fundamental role chips play in powering the entire digital ecosystem.

“When we talk about true digital sovereignty, it begins at the chip level,” Gupta said. “Whether it’s artificial intelligence or cloud computing, all mission-critical government or enterprise applications ultimately rely on semiconductors.”

Gupta explained that the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) aims to take ownership of the full digital technology stack—from chip manufacturing to software applications. “From chips we move to making equipment, then operating systems, followed by datasets, AI models, and finally the applications that run on them,” he said. “The government recognises this and has rightly launched the semiconductor mission so that India can design, fabricate, and assemble chips entirely within the country.”

The ISM, launched with a budget outlay of ₹76,000 crore in December 2021, is already beginning to bear fruit. So far, five semiconductor fabrication units are in advanced stages of construction. Among them, a plant in Uttar Pradesh—part of a joint venture between HCL and Foxconn—will manufacture display driver chips used in mobile phones, PCs, laptops, and vehicles. This facility alone will have the capacity to produce 36 million units per month from 20,000 wafers.

Gupta also underlined India’s strategic move to secure rare earth metals, essential for chip production, in the wake of export restrictions from China. “The Prime Minister has recently visited Latin America and Africa, and there’s clear intent to secure these critical resources,” he noted.

The focus isn’t just on production but also innovation. Currently, students and entrepreneurs from over 270 academic institutions and 70 startups are developing new chip designs. According to officials, 20 of these designs have already been taped out at SCL Mohali.

Dipali Pillai, founding member of Bharath Cloud, echoed the sentiment on self-reliance, saying, “This is not just a tech story—it’s an economic and national security story. Building our digital systems on our own terms and soil is critical if India wants to grow and innovate.”

While India’s semiconductor journey has begun with the manufacturing of 28-nanometer chips, officials are confident that the country will progress toward producing high-end 2nm and 3nm chips in the near future. The government has also announced that India could develop its own indigenous GPU within five years—a move seen as a gamechanger for national digital autonomy.

Also Read: India's Rising Role in Semiconductor Manufacturing Highlighted at Carnegie Global Technology Summit