From 1964 to 2006: Ashwini Vaishnaw lists missed chip chances under Congress

Union Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday accused the Congress of missing key chances to develop India’s semiconductor industry despite having the talent.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Vaishnaw cited two “missed opportunities” — Fairchild Semiconductor founder Robert Noyce’s 1964 visit, when the Congress-led government’s “licence-permit raj” stopped him from setting up a plant in India, and Intel’s 2005–06 proposal for a unit that was rejected due to “policy paralysis” under the UPA regime.

 

 

 

 

 

While India’s Semiconductor Laboratory in Mohali currently runs only at a lab scale, Vaishnaw said the country is now constructing a 50,000-wafer-start-per-month fabrication facility. Six semiconductor projects — one fab and five ATMP (assembly, testing, marking and packaging) units — are underway, with four more approved last week, including a silicon carbide fab and an advanced packaging ATMP plant.

The minister said the full chip ecosystem is now taking shape, with global equipment majors Applied Materials and Lam Research establishing design, production and validation operations in India.

Against the backdrop of global trade uncertainty, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has renewed his call for a “swadeshi” push, emphasising India’s drive towards self-reliance and energy independence.

In his Independence Day address, Modi described the 21st century as a “technology-driven century” and announced that “Made-in-India” semiconductor chips would hit the market by year-end. He also urged the creation of homegrown fertilisers and indigenous fighter jet engines as proof of India’s growing strength in global markets.

“We still rely on other nations for much of our energy. To truly build a self-reliant India, we must achieve energy independence,” he said. “Over the past 11 years, our solar power capacity has grown 30-fold, and ten new nuclear reactors are already operational. By the time India marks 100 years of independence, our goal is to increase nuclear energy capacity tenfold.”