Five of India's 12 approved chip projects are now in commercial production, ISM chief tells ISIG summit

For several years, India's semiconductor story was told mainly through policy: incentive schemes, approved projects and foundation-stone ceremonies. At the ISIG Executive Summit India 2026, held at The LaLiT in New Delhi on 3–4 November, the government's chip mission said that phase is ending.

Amitesh Kumar Sinha, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) and CEO of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), told the summit that India has now approved 12 semiconductor manufacturing projects, and that five of them have already started commercial production. He described this as the shift from policy to execution under Semicon 2.0.

What the numbers mean

The reported commercial-production count is a programme-level statement by the ISM chief, not evidence that five advanced logic wafer fabs are operating. Most of the approved projects are assembly, testing and packaging units (ATMP/OSAT), plus compound-semiconductor facilities. These are the parts of the chain where India can move fastest. Fabs take longer, so the 12-project pipeline and the five units now producing are the measures to watch while the bigger plants are built.

The figures are Sinha's statements at the summit. They match the direction of ISM's recent announcements, but reports of the event did not include a project-by-project list.

What the summit focused on

The two-day programme, aimed at senior executives, researchers, investors and government officials, covered:

• Advanced packaging and OSAT. India's most active area of investment, and one where global demand is rising with chiplet-based designs.
• Power electronics and wide-bandgap semiconductors. Mainly silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), which are central to EV drivetrains, fast chargers, solar inverters, data-centre power supplies and defence radar.

The wide-bandgap focus is deliberate. The SiC and GaN supply chains are smaller and less concentrated than leading-edge logic manufacturing, which gives newer entrants a realistic way in. India's electric-vehicle, renewable-energy and defence programmes also give these chips a ready domestic market. Dr Shalu Agarwal, General Manager for India and Head of Power Semiconductor at ISIG, was among the speakers.

Bihar signs on

ISIG also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Bihar for strategic cooperation in developing the state's semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The reports gave no financial terms, timelines or named projects, so for now the MoU is a statement of intent. What it will mean in practice, whether investor outreach, skills programmes or help designing a state policy, will become clear only once a work plan is published.

It still matters. India's chip investment has so far gone mainly to Gujarat, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Several of these states run their own incentives on top of central support, with terms that vary by programme and state. Bihar's move shows that states without a semiconductor base also want a share of the next round of investment.

Why it matters

The summit's message matches what India's chip programme now needs: plants that ship products, not more announcements. The official described Semicon 2.0 as extending attention from big manufacturing projects to the wider supply chain, including materials, equipment, design and specialised segments such as power devices. Hearing from ISM that five plants are in commercial production, and seeing global industry groups focus on packaging and wide-bandgap chips, suggests that the strategy is at least being carried out.

The next stages will be harder: winning repeat orders from global customers, getting products qualified for automotive and industrial markets, and building a supplier base for gases, chemicals and equipment. ISIG says the summit will return to India on 30 November–1 December 2027, by which time more of the 12 approved projects should be in production.

Sources

• https://ianslive.in/indias-semiconductor-push-moves-from-policy-to-execution-under-semicon-20-govt--20261105152733
• https://www.thehansindia.com/business/indias-chip-industry-push-moves-from-policy-to-execution-under-semicon-20-govt-1139531
• https://www.semiconductorforu.com/isig-executive-summit-india-2026-concludes-in-new-delhi-as-india-charts-its-path-from-policy-to-ecosystem/
• https://timestech.in/isig-executive-summit-india-2026-concludes-in-new-delhi-as-india-charts-its-path-from-policy-to-ecosystem/
• https://www.aninews.in/news/business/indias-semiconductor-ambitions-in-focus-as-global-industry-leaders-to-meet-in-delhi-for-isig-executive-summit20261014141030/
• https://theisig.com/summits/india-2026/
• https://www.imec-int.com/en/events/isig-executive-summit-india