Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday received the country’s first made-in-India semiconductor chip at the inauguration of Semicon India 2025 in New Delhi. Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw presented the Vikram 32-bit processor, developed by Isro’s Semiconductor Lab, along with test chips from four approved projects.According to news agency ANI, Vaishnaw said the achievement reflects the country’s rapid progress under the India Semiconductor Mission launched in 2021. “Just a few years ago, we met for the first time to make a new beginning driven by our Prime Minister’s farsighted vision. In a short span of 3.5 years, we have the world looking at India with confidence. Today, the construction of five Semiconductor units is going on at a rapid pace…We just presented the first ‘Made-in-India’ chip to PM Modi,” he stated.Vaishnaw added that despite global policy turmoil, India has emerged as a “lighthouse of stability and growth.” The Vikram processor, fully indigenous, has been qualified for use in harsh launch vehicle conditions, ANI reported.The minister highlighted India’s semiconductor ecosystem push, including the Rs 76,000 crore Production Linked Incentive scheme, of which nearly Rs 65,000 crore has already been committed. He also referred to the Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) Pilot Line Facility launched in Sanand, Gujarat, with CG-Semi expected to roll out chips soon.As per ANI, the government has sanctioned 23 design projects under the Design Linked Incentive scheme, while 10 semiconductor manufacturing projects worth over Rs 1.6 lakh crore have been approved across Gujarat, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh.Industry leaders also hailed India’s growing role. Tim Archer, CEO of Lam Research, said India is laying the foundation for a “resilient semiconductor ecosystem” as the global market moves toward the $1 trillion mark. Kai Beckmann of Merck projected India’s local semiconductor market would reach $100 billion by 2030, while AMD CTO Mark Papermaster highlighted the company’s $400 million India investment plan announced at last year’s Semicon event.Beckmann stressed collaboration, calling semiconductors a “team sport,” while Papermaster praised India’s “extraordinary talent base” and government backing.The three-day Semicon India 2025 aims to position India as a global hub for chip design, manufacturing, and innovation, focusing on building a robust and sustainable ecosystem, ANI reported.
