India's Semiconductor and AI Development Initiatives
India is implementing a comprehensive strategy to develop domestic capabilities in semiconductors and artificial intelligence through two major missions with significant financial outlays. The Semicon India program has evolved from its initial ₹76,000 crore outlay (Semicon 1.0) to a substantially expanded Semicon 2.0 with ₹1,27,500 crore outlay approved in July 2026, representing a total commitment of over ₹1.38 lakh crore to these strategic technology sectors.
Semiconductor Ecosystem Development
The semiconductor initiative focuses on six strategic pillars: chip design, semiconductor equipment and materials, fabrication facilities, advanced packaging, research and development, and talent development. Twelve semiconductor projects have been approved across six states with investment commitments exceeding ₹1.64 lakh crore, spanning silicon and compound semiconductor fabs, display fabrication, and advanced packaging facilities. Three facilities have already commenced commercial production, marking India's transition from policy to actual semiconductor manufacturing.
Significant progress has been made in design capabilities with 211 chips taped out by 75 institutions by April 2026, including 7 chips successfully fabricated at various nodes including advanced 12 nm technology. The Chips to Startup (C2S) program has deployed Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools in 320 academic institutions and trained over 68,000 students. Additionally, 24 semiconductor design projects have received financial support and 105 startups/MSMEs have received EDA tool support under the Design Linked Incentive Scheme.
AI Infrastructure and Development
The IndiaAI Mission, approved with an outlay of approximately ₹10,372 crore, has established substantial computing infrastructure with 45,000+ Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) deployed as of June 2026. By August 2026, 237 projects had accessed subsidized AI computing covering 93.18 lakh GPU hours, significantly reducing entry barriers for researchers and startups.
The mission has selected 20 indigenous foundation model proposals from 506 applications received, comprising 12 Large Multimodal Models and 8 Small Language Models. The AI Kosh platform hosts over 14,000 datasets and 331 AI models as of July 2026, providing critical resources for AI development. Practical applications include 62 AI prototypes developed and 20 AI solutions deployed across public-sector institutions as of August 2026.
Institutional Capacity Building
Fifty-eight Artificial Intelligence Centres of Excellence (AI CoEs) have been approved across States and Union Territories, with 22 already initiated across 13 States/UTs as of August 2026. The National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) has established 25 Technology Innovation Hubs across leading academic institutions supporting research in AI, robotics, cybersecurity, and quantum technologies.
Data Center Infrastructure Expansion
Supporting the AI infrastructure, data center capacity has grown significantly from 375 MW in 2020 to approximately 1,575 MW currently, with centers located across Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Gujarat. Expansion is underway in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal.
Global Recognition and Partnerships
India has secured global recognition, ranking third in AI competitiveness and ecosystem vibrancy according to the Stanford Global AI Vibrancy Report 2025, and becoming the second-largest contributor to GitHub AI projects in 2025. Global partnerships with the United States, Japan, Singapore, the Netherlands, Germany, and the European Union are strengthening technology collaboration. Semicon India 2025 brought together 350+ exhibitors from 48 countries, recording 35,000 registrations and 30,000 footfalls, with 12 Memorandums of Understanding announced for product development and skill development.
India joined the Pax Silica coalition at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 held in February 2026, which saw participation from delegations from over 100 countries and 20 international organizations, with declarations adopted by 92 countries and organizations. The government has also approved 13 Responsible AI projects under the Safe & Trusted AI pillar focusing on bias mitigation, deepfake detection, privacy-preserving AI, and AI risk assessment.