From ‘Not Gate’ to ‘And Gate’: How SEMICON India is building the semiconductor ecosystem, chip by chip

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first SEMICON India in Bengaluru in 2022, he used an unusual analogy to describe the role he wanted the government to play in the semiconductor industry.

“In earlier times, industries were ready to do their work, but the government was like a ‘Not Gate’,” Modi said, comparing policy to a logic gate that negates an input. The government, he argued, should instead function like an “And Gate”: when industry works hard, the government must work even harder to support it.

Four years later, as SEMICON India returns to New Delhi this week for its fifth edition, that pitch has begun to look more concrete. India is no longer presenting itself only as a potential semiconductor destination; it now has a pipeline of fabrication and packaging plants, projects moving towards production, chips emerging from pilot lines, and a second phase of the government’s semiconductor programme with an outlay of Rs 1.28 lakh crore.

2022: India lays the groundwork

The first SEMICON India in Bengaluru in April 2022 was organised months after the government had announced the Rs 76,000 crore Semicon India Programme. Back then, the conference was largely about convincing the industry that India was serious about semiconductors. 

The conference produced its first major corporate investment announcement from Applied Materials, which committed a cumulative investment of Rs 1,800 crore over the next few years towards supporting future product development, R&D and the development of the local supply chain.

The first edition also focused heavily on the less visible infrastructure needed to create a semiconductor industry. SEMI and ELCINA signed an MoU to promote the semiconductor ecosystem in India. Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) and Qualcomm partnered to nurture semiconductor design startups in line with the Design Linked Incentive scheme. AICTE, SEMI and the India Semiconductor Mission joined hands on workforce development and training.

2023: India draws bigger bets

A year later, the tone at SEMICON India had changed. The second edition, held in Gandhinagar in July 2023, brought a much bigger global industry presence and, more importantly, a few commitments that went beyond policy intent.

The biggest announcement came from AMD, with the chipmaker committing to invest around $400 million in India over five years to establish India as the world’s largest design centre for AMD. On the sidelines of the event, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) signed an MoU with the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and Lam Research India to utilise Semiverse Solutions to develop a 60,000-strong workforce in nano-fabrication in India over the next 10 years.

The event also brought Arm closer to India's semiconductor startup ecosystem. Arm and CDAC expanded access to Arm's Flexible Access programme for eligible Indian semiconductor startups covered under the government's Design Linked Incentive scheme. They could access Arm's processor IP, tools, and training at a $0 licence fee as they worked on their own chip designs.

2024: NXP, L&T raise the stakes

SEMICON India 2024 in Greater Noida arrived after the government had approved a number of semiconductor projects, including the Micron assembly and test facility, CG Power and Tata Electronics' semiconductor projects.

The corporate announcements at the event reflected a broader ambition. NXP announced its plans to increase its R&D investment in India to more than $1 billion over the coming years. L&T Semiconductor Technologies announced plans to invest more than $300 million to build a fabless semiconductor company, with around 15 products planned. L&T also collaborated with IBM around advanced processor technologies.

The event also gave considerably more space to advanced packaging, 2.5D and 3D integration, and chiplets, areas that have become increasingly important with the rise of AI and high-performance computing. This was the time when the policy conversation was expanding, and the government began talking publicly about a second phase of the semiconductor programme, with the ambition of covering a much larger portion of the value chain.

2025: India puts its chips on the table

The most striking change came at SEMICON India 2025.

The government presented the Prime Minister with a set of chips designed by Indian students and fabricated at the Semiconductor Laboratory in Mohali. The event also featured the indigenous Vikram-32 processor, developed by ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and fabricated at SCL.

The conference produced a long list of new partnerships. Tata Electronics and Merck announced an MoU to develop capabilities in semiconductor materials, semiconductor fabrication infrastructure, and specialty chemical and gas distribution in India. Tata Electronics and C-DAC agreed to work on domestic semiconductor design and IP.

Kaynes and its partners announced plans for a localised automotive camera module, while another Kaynes partnership with Infineon focused on MEMS microphones and advanced semiconductor packages.

Moreover, the industry coalition India Deep Tech Alliance received commitments of over $1 billion from investors, initially focusing on semiconductors and later intending to cover areas such as quantum, clean energy, biotechnology and space.

2026: Ecosystem to take centre stage

This year's event comes at a time when the government is trying to build the next layer of the ecosystem. But that does not necessarily mean SEMICON India 2026 will produce a long list of billion-dollar fab or packaging announcements.

As major semiconductor projects seeking fiscal support under Semicon 2.0 will still have to go through the government's application and evaluation process, they will not be announced at this stage. However, the conference can create the conversations and partnerships that could lead to such investments. 

The bigger story at this year's event may therefore be less about the sudden announcement of another large fab and more about the supporting ecosystem for the already approved projects that are being built.