Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called on leading global semiconductor companies to consider India as their next manufacturing destination, reinforcing the country’s commitment to building a robust and future-ready semiconductor ecosystem.

On Wednesday, Modi held a CEO roundtable with top executives from companies such as ASML, Tata Electronics, Applied Materials, and AMD, alongside leaders from global and Indian semiconductor sectors and policy think tanks. The session took place on the sidelines of India Semicon 2025, where participants were invited to share insights and expectations from the upcoming second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM).

“There were around 20 to 25 attendees, including CEOs, industry leaders, and ministry officials. Each speaker had 2–3 minutes to provide feedback or present ideas on enabling the sector’s growth in India,” said one participant.

According to officials, the Prime Minister was keen to understand what had worked during Phase 1 of the ISM, and what adjustments would be required to better support the ecosystem in Phase 2.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology presented a review of India's semiconductor journey so far. The country now has 10 approved chip manufacturing and packaging units, with a total committed investment of USD 18 billion (around Rs 1.5 trillion).

The government’s pitch centres around a stable, predictable policy regime and a growing base in design, packaging, start-ups, and semiconductor skills. Modi’s message to the industry was clear: India is ready to scale from “paperwork to wafer work.”

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister visited the India Semicon 2025 exhibition halls, engaging directly with senior industry representatives. He interacted with ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet, Applied Materials' Prabu Raja, Tata Electronics’ Randhir Thakur and Srinivas Satya, among others, who shared insights on both global and Indian supply chain dynamics.

India’s Rs 760 billion Semiconductor Mission, launched in December 2021, is nearly fully committed. So far, it has approved one chip fabrication unit, one compound semiconductor fab, and eight OSAT/ATMP (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Testing / Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging) units.

Inaugurating the event on Tuesday, Modi acknowledged India’s late entry into the semiconductor sector but asserted that the country is now fully geared for transformation. Echoing this sentiment, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasised that India’s economic stability, even amid global uncertainty, makes it a reliable investment destination.