India Sees ₹1 Lakh Cr Semiconductor Investment Interest Under Semicon 2.0

India is seeing around ₹1 lakh crore, or $11–12 billion, in potential semiconductor investments under Semicon 2.0, according to Union electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Speaking at SEMICON India 2026, Vaishnaw said the figure is based on discussions with companies exploring projects across chip design, equipment, materials, fabrication and advanced packaging. Some of those plans have not yet been publicly announced, so the figure represents indicated investment interest rather than completed deployment.

The government says companies across capital equipment, specialty materials, gases and packaging are considering deploying capital over the next two to three years. One large announced commitment came from Applied Materials, which unveiled a $5 billion investment plan during the event. The broader aim is to build domestic capabilities around semiconductor manufacturing rather than relying only on large wafer-fabrication projects.

Semicon 2.0 was approved in July with an outlay of ₹1.275 lakh crore. The programme is structured around six areas: chip design, equipment and materials, additional fabs, advanced packaging, applied research and development, and talent. It follows Semicon 1.0, under which 12 manufacturing projects with cumulative proposed investment of more than ₹1.64 lakh crore were approved.

The second phase is also expanding support for startups and smaller semiconductor companies. Vaishnaw said the programme is targeting at least 200 startups and companies, while more than 105 startups attempted chip design under the earlier phase and around 20 subsequently raised roughly ₹800 crore in venture funding. Eligible startups and MSMEs under Semicon 2.0 can receive seed funding and additional co-investment support.

The emphasis now is shifting from attracting isolated chip factories to building the suppliers, packaging capacity, design talent and equipment ecosystem around them. India’s semiconductor demand is expected to rise sharply over the next decade, but domestic manufacturing remains relatively young. Whether the reported ₹1 lakh crore pipeline turns into operating facilities will therefore be an important measure of Semicon 2.0’s execution.