India is witnessing nationwide momentum in chip design and semiconductor capability as it prepares its workforce for the artificial intelligence age, with four semiconductor plants set to begin production in 2026, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw announced at the India AI Impact Summit.
Addressing the session titled Semiconductor Workforce in the Age of AI, Ashwini Vaishnaw outlined India’s strategy to build deep-end semiconductor talent that spans the full fabrication ecosystem, from device physics to advanced manufacturing systems. He emphasised that semiconductors form one of the most critical layers of modern technology architecture and will remain a foundational strength for India in the decades ahead.
He said students across nearly every region of the country, from Assam to Jammu and Kashmir and from Kerala to Tamil Nadu, are now actively designing chips. In the AI-driven era, he noted, semiconductor capability will be central to sustaining India’s technological sovereignty and global competitiveness.
The Minister highlighted that India’s semiconductor expansion is not limited to design leadership. He confirmed that 10 major semiconductor plants have already been committed across the country. At least four of these facilities are expected to commence production in 2026, with the remaining plants to follow in subsequent phases. The upcoming India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 will extend support across the entire ecosystem, including domestic manufacturing of semiconductor equipment.
Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, S Krishnan, underscored the strategic convergence between the India AI Mission and the India Semiconductor Mission. He said semiconductors are central to the AI value chain just as AI increasingly influences semiconductor design, manufacturing and optimisation processes.
Krishnan noted that India already contributes nearly 20 percent of the global semiconductor design workforce. However, to emerge as a reliable long-term global partner, the country must expand beyond design into advanced manufacturing leadership. The alignment of AI capability with semiconductor manufacturing scale, he said, will define India’s position in global supply chains.
The panel discussion that followed reframed workforce development as an ecosystem challenge rather than a narrow skilling initiative. Speakers emphasised that semiconductor manufacturing demands extreme precision, long learning cycles and integrated understanding of fabrication processes. Isolated technical training is insufficient; instead, engineers and technicians must comprehend the behaviour of processes across the entire fabrication chain.
The session featured David Fried, Corporate Vice President of Lam Research; Paul Triolo, Partner at DGA Group; and Saurabh Chandorkar, Associate Professor at the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering, IISc. Panelists collectively stressed that human capital will determine the pace and credibility of India’s semiconductor expansion.
Industry leaders observed that established semiconductor hubs developed capabilities over five to seven decades. India is attempting to compress this trajectory into a significantly shorter timeframe. Achieving this acceleration, they argued, requires tightly integrated collaboration between academia, equipment manufacturers and fabrication facilities. Curriculum design, research priorities and hands-on industrial exposure must align directly with real production environments.
The IISc SemiFirst collaboration was cited as a working model for this approach. By integrating simulation-led learning with exposure to real fabrication subsystems, including pressure gauge systems and process and instrumentation diagram development, the programme prepares students for the operational complexity of semiconductor manufacturing rather than limiting them to narrowly defined tasks.
Participants noted that workforce readiness is no longer a distant objective but an immediate business and national priority. The success of the forthcoming fabrication plants, as well as India’s broader ambitions in AI and advanced electronics, depends on creating a robust, industry-ready semiconductor workforce.
The session concluded that infrastructure investments alone will not define semiconductor capability in the AI era. The decisive factor will be the depth of knowledge, systems understanding and operational expertise of the workforce that runs these facilities. Building this capability at scale is central to positioning India as a trusted global partner in advanced manufacturing and next-generation technology.
