CSIR-NIScPR organised a day-long workshop on strengthening India's semiconductor ecosystem at Vivekananda Hall, Pusa Campus, New Delhi on 27 February 2026. The event brought together experts from research and development institutions, government, academia and industry to review findings of a comparative study on global semiconductor policies and India's landscape. Representatives from central agencies, universities, laboratories and private firms participated and proceedings were streamed live to widen stakeholder engagement. The convening aimed to identify challenges, explore collaboration opportunities and inform policy recommendations.

Speakers noted that India exhibits strong global design leadership while remaining heavily import dependent, with 95 per cent of key components sourced externally. CSIR-NIScPR highlighted evidence-based policy reforms and an innovation push under ISM 2.0 as central to strategic self-reliance by 2030. Panelists recommended mission-mode programmes, expansion of indigenous technology initiatives and support for deep-tech startups to bridge the valley of death between prototypes and manufacturing. There was emphasis on scaling prototyping facilities and R&D hubs to advance technology readiness levels.

Technical sessions addressed research and innovation, design and manufacturing ecosystems, skills development, and policy and governance frameworks. Participants urged pilot fabs, niche defence semiconductors, indigenous materials and equipment development, and design-led research with focus on photonics and artificial intelligence applications. The skills session called for CMOS-focused academic programmes, structured skilling initiatives and industry collaboration to build a specialised workforce. Policy discussions compared global models and recommended unified governance structures, a national research centre and measures to improve supply chain resilience.

Concluding discussions stressed coordinated action across R&D, design, manufacturing, skills and policy to strengthen India's position in the global value chain. Experts identified opportunities in indigenous analog, sensor and application-specific products and emerging areas such as chip-to-chip-less architectures and quantum-integrated semiconductor systems. CSIR-NIScPR reaffirmed its commitment to provide evidence-based policy inputs and to facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue for implementation of recommendations. The workshop outcomes were presented as a roadmap to guide focused execution, innovation and scaling over the coming years.