Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday underlined the strategic importance of India’s semiconductor push, saying the country's success in the critical
industry would help strengthen global supply chains at a time when they are increasingly being "weaponised." Addressing the SEMICON India 2026 conference in New Delhi, PM Modi invited global semiconductor companies and equipment makers to tap into India’s expanding high-tech ecosystem, asserting that the foundation for next-generation technologies such as compound semiconductors and silicon photonics has already been laid. "When a country like ours succeeds in a critical industry, it strengthens the global supply chain—a fact that has become even more significant at a time when supply chains are being weaponised. We should view these transformations taking place in India through this broader perspective," the Prime Minister said. "The semiconductor industry is facing numerous challenges. Amidst these challenges, the world is in dire need of new and reliable manufacturing hubs, and I say this with full responsibility. I assure you that India is continuously preparing itself for this role...India is also emphasising the strengthening of supply chains and has implemented several reforms to achieve this," he added.
PM Modi flags India's next semiconductor opportunity
Emphasising the Centre's proactive efforts in building resilient global supply networks, PM Modi underscored that extensive policy reforms have been executed to make India an attractive hub for end-to-end chip design, manufacturing, and assembly.
"From the manufacturing of various compound semiconductors to integrating silicon photonics into the ecosystem, all of this is essential for AI-enabling infrastructure, and we must move forward together in this direction. The necessary foundation for this has already been laid," he said.
Making a direct pitch to global semiconductor equipment and component suppliers attending the conclave, the Prime Minister added, "I urge the leaders of equipment companies present here not to miss these opportunities."
"Our government has set a target to train 1 lakh engineering students for the semiconductor industry, and we have already trained over 70,000 of them... I call upon the youth—whether they are conducting research in India or abroad—to come forward and participate in the development of advanced technology here," he added.
He also spoke about how the consensus adoption of the 'New Delhi Declaration' at the recently concluded BRICS Summit stands as firm evidence of the nation's soaring global credibility.
"India successfully concluded the BRICS Summit. The adoption of the New Delhi Declaration with everyone's support is one more piece of evidence of India's global credibility. And SEMICON India being held amid such major achievements is another significant milestone," Prime Minister Modi said.
The Prime Minister emphasised that global confidence in India is strengthening across strategic domains, from building consensus on complex international platforms to establishing trusted and resilient supply chains in mission-critical sectors like semiconductors.
The fifth edition of SEMICON India 2026 is a three-day national convention on the country's semiconductor and electronics ecosystem, being held from September 17 to 19 at the Yashobhoomi Convention Centre in Delhi on the theme ‘Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem'.
(With agency inputs)
