PM Pitches India as a Global Destination for Chipmaking

Gist Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently pitched India as a reliable, democratic alternative for global electronics manufacturing at the Semicon India event. Highlighting the increasing geopolitical "weaponisation" of tech supply chains, the government is leveraging the newly notified second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission ISM 2.0 to build a secure, end-to-end chipmaking ecosystem. For aspirants, this signals a critical shift in India’s industrial policy from merely seeking foreign factories to comprehensively developing domestic capabilities in chip design, manufacturing, testing, and talent generation. Background The India Semiconductor Mission ISM is the nodal governmental initiative launched to build a sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in the country, thereby reducing import dependence on critical tech components. Globally, semiconductor manufacturing is highly concentrated in a few geographies, making the entire supply chain vulnerable to geopolitical tensions, trade wars, and strategic export controls—a phenomenon termed the "weaponisation" of supply chains. Prior to the second phase ISM 2.0 , India's foundational efforts primarily focused on attracting capital-intensive fabrication plants fabs . The updated mandate significantly broadens this focus to simultaneously cultivate the raw materials ecosystem,…