Fifth SEMICON India inaugurated in New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the fifth edition of SEMICON India in New Delhi on September 17, a three-day event (17-19 September) held at Yashobhoomi under the theme 'Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem.' The event drew more than 600 exhibitors, including around 300 international companies, with delegates from over 40 countries. Modi's address launched the second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission, with an expanded outlay of $13.5 billion compared with $8 billion in the first phase; Phase 2 broadens the mission's focus beyond fabrication and packaging to chip design, research and development, machines and materials, additional fabs, talent development and ATMP/OSAT (assembly, testing, marking, packaging) capabilities, aiming to build out the complete semiconductor ecosystem rather than chip fabrication alone. The address also highlighted that commercial production has begun at two new plants, in Mohali and Surat, with chips made in India now reaching customers both domestically and internationally, alongside regulatory reforms letting international companies collaborate with Indian startups, Indian design firms and OCI-owned entities. It also highlighted domestic chip production and a target to train one lakh engineering students, with 70,000 already trained.