India to launch first ‘Made-in-India’ packaged semiconductor chip by December 2025

INDIA — India’s semiconductor ambitions are set to take a major leap, with the country’s first domestically packaged chip expected to debut by December 2025, according to Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada.

Prasada, speaking to ANI, said the government is aligning the chip supply chain, from design and testing to packaging and exports, to build a globally competitive ecosystem.

His remarks follow Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s unveiling of a “Made in India” semiconductor vision at Davos earlier this year, and industry reports that Kaynes Semicon had been targeting mid-2025 for a delivery milestone.

The announcement reflects momentum under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), launched in 2021 with an outlay of ₹76,000 crore (US$8.69bn) to support fabrication, chip design, and display manufacturing.

Just last week, the Union Cabinet cleared four new projects worth ₹4,594 crore (US$525.33m), including two in Bhubaneswar and one each in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.

So far, 10 semiconductor projects with cumulative investments exceeding ₹1.6 lakh crore (US$19.05bn) have been approved across six states, including Gujarat, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

These span fabrication plants, assembly units and testing facilities, with production timelines ranging between one and five years.

India is also advancing its first commercial-scale silicon-based fab, with capacity for about 50,000 wafer starts per month.

Six semiconductor units, one fab and five ATMP (assembly, testing, marking and packaging) facilities, are under construction, while four additional projects, including a silicon carbide fab and three ATMP units with advanced packaging, were recently approved.

Policy support and skills development

The Semicon India programme offers up to 50% fiscal support for setting up fabs, in addition to incentives for compound semiconductors, silicon photonics, sensors, and ATMP/OSAT facilities.

On the design side, the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme provides ₹1,000 crore (US$114.35m) in funding, supporting 72 design companies to date, including 23 cleared for production-linked aid to develop chips for automotive, computing and mobility applications.

To address the skills gap, the government has introduced a VLSI curriculum under AICTE and supplied design tools for startups, while forging MoUs with partners including the US, EU, Japan and Singapore.

Officials estimate approved projects could create 29,000 direct jobs, with the semiconductor market projected to reach US$150 billion by 2030.

Alongside the semiconductor mission, Prasada outlined progress on the IndiaAI Mission, a seven-pillar strategy covering compute infrastructure, foundation models, startups, and AI governance.

India will host an AI Impact Summit in February 2026, with proposals open until January 2026.

Whether India meets its December 2025 packaged chip milestone will depend on execution and readiness of packaging partners.

Still, analysts say the move signals India’s determination to emerge as a credible player in the global semiconductor supply chain.

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