India's first semiconductor fabrication plant is set to begin manufacturing using mature process technologies, with commercial production expected to start largely on the 90-nanometre node rather than the more advanced 28nm technology. As reported by Bloomberg, the Dholera semiconductor fabrication facility has an investment of about ₹91,000 crore and is being developed in partnership with Taiwan-based Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC). The facility has a planned production capacity of up to 50,000 wafer starts per month and is designed to manufacture chips across multiple technology nodes: 28nm, 40nm, 55nm, 90nm and 110nm. According to Tata Electronics, production was 'always' intended to begin with 55nm and 90nm before adding 28nm, which it described as 'a key part of our offering'.
Despite India's ambitious semiconductor self-reliance goals, global evidence shows that complete chip import elimination is neither practical nor necessary. As reported by Business Standard, even the world's largest semiconductor producers continue massive import volumes. China imported $386.5 billion worth of electronic integrated circuits in 2024, more than 16 times India's semiconductor imports during the same period. The scale is even more striking as China's chip imports exceeded the value of its crude oil imports in 2024, yet Beijing continues investing billions in domestic production. Similarly, South Korea imported $60.7 billion despite dominating the global memory chip market through Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, while Malaysia imported $54.2 billion and the United States imported $41.3 billion in 2024.
Industry experts agree that India does not need to dominate every stage of the semiconductor value chain to emerge as a globally competitive player. According to Business Standard, one such area is chip design and intellectual property (IP), where India is home to nearly one-fifth of the world's integrated circuit (IC) design professionals and hosts major engineering and design centres for leading global semiconductor companies. Deepak Gupta, semiconductor and AI technology expert, believes advanced packaging presents a major opportunity for India as chiplet-based architectures become mainstream, requiring relatively lower capital investment while enabling countries to integrate into global semiconductor supply chains more quickly. Another promising segment is mature-node semiconductor manufacturing, which focuses on producing proven, high-volume chips used in sectors such as automotive, industrial equipment, power electronics, and telecom, offering significant potential combined with India's growing electronics market.
The Dholera fab will manufacture products including power-management integrated circuits (PMICs), microcontrollers, display driver integrated circuits and computing logic chips across sectors such as automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications, industrial equipment and power infrastructure. According to Business Standard, microcontrollers control operations ranging from engine management, braking and lighting in vehicles to industrial automation, smart appliances and embedded electronic systems, while power-management chips regulate and distribute electrical power in smartphones, laptops, electric vehicles, charging systems and telecom equipment. The NITI Aayog's Future of India's Semiconductor Industry roadmap published in May identified manufacturing, advanced packaging, design capabilities and partnerships as part of the long-term strategy, arguing that reducing semiconductor import dependence and building domestic manufacturing capability is becoming important not only for industrial growth but also for technological resilience.
India is making a significant commitment to semiconductor development with the Union government committing more than $21 billion (around ₹2.03 trillion) in incentives for the sector. According to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's roadmap, the government plans to establish four to six semiconductor fabrication plants, 10 outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) facilities, and six to 10 compound semiconductor plants over the next five years. Commercial production at the Dholera facility is now expected to begin in mid-2028, according to Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. In assembly and packaging, projects by Micron, Kaynes and CG Power are already operational under the government's semiconductor programme. However, India's subsidy push remains smaller than global competitors, with China's semiconductor incentives estimated at about $95 billion, while the US CHIPS and Science Act provides $52 billion in direct support.
