Synopsis
Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched India as the most promising destination for semiconductor designing and manufacturing on Wednesday . The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is currently framing the contours of ISM 2.0. The first version of the ISM was launched in 2020 and has so far secured investments worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore across 10 semiconductor projects, which are currently in various stages of completion.Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched India as the most promising destination for semiconductor designing and manufacturing on Wednesday at a CEO roundtable with international and domestic executives from the semiconductor sector, people in the know said.
The Prime Minister, along with electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and minister of state Jitin Prasada, met close to 25 industry leaders, including global CEOs Christophe Fouquet of ASML, Kai Beckmann of Merck, Tim Archer of Lam Research and Tokyo Electron’ Toshiki Kawai during the roundtable.
Tata Electronics CEO Randhir Thakur, L&T Semiconductor Tech chief Sandeep Kumar, Micron senior vice-president Gursharan Singh and Prabhu Raja, who is president of Semiconductor Products Group at Applied Materials, were among the other top executives who attended the meeting. Officials from Invest India, industry groups India Electronics & Semiconductor Association and Electronic Industries Association of India, and Celesta capital which launched a $1 billion Deeptech fund aimed at India were also present
Taking to social media platform X, the PM spoke about the interaction. "Their (CEOs’) confidence in India’s potential is evident and they are betting big on India as a global hub for semiconductor innovation and manufacturing. I talked about India's relentless reform journey in this sector, which includes building robust infrastructure and emphasis on skilling as well as innovation," he wrote.
The PM listened to the plans and objectives of each company and industry bodies, the sources said.
"The PM said government policy is enabled by critical inputs from the industry. He said he looks forward to receiving continuous feedback on government policy, which will be used in shaping the future roadmap for the sector, including the second version of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM 2.0)," a source said.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is currently framing the contours of ISM 2.0. The first version of the ISM was launched in 2020 and has so far secured investments worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore across 10 semiconductor projects, which are currently in various stages of completion.
Earlier in the day, the PM visited the Semicon India exhibition in the capital.
A day before, Vaishnaw had presented the PM with the first chips designed and built in India by Indian students and the Murugappa Group's CG Semi.
On Tuesday, Vaishnaw had told investors that India is on track to becoming a product nation. "Our well-known design capabilities, our deep talent pool is growing exponentially, and now the manufacturing facilities which are getting developed in India will give you a unique advantage. You will grow with India's growth," he said.
While inaugurating the Semicon India 2025 summit on Tuesday, Modi said India’s semiconductor industry will command a significant share of a $1 trillion market in the next few years, Modi said on Tuesday. The country is becoming a full-stack semiconductor nation, he said.
The global semiconductor market is currently worth $600 billion and India's smallest chip will soon drive the world's biggest change, he added.

India most promising destination for semiconductor manufacturing, PM tells CEOs - The Economic Times
Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched India as the most promising destination for semiconductor designing and manufacturing on Wednesday . The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is currently framing the contours of ISM 2.0. The first version of the ISM was launched in 2020 and has...