India’s chip programme advances as fabs and packaging plants open in Gujarat and Assam, backed by a $20B push.

A Jefferies report published this month says clean rooms are already processing wafers and packaged chips are coming off early assembly lines.

Under Phase 1 of the government’s semiconductor incentive plan, 12 projects worth roughly $20 billion have been approved so far, covering everything from front-end fabrication to back-end packaging and specialised materials.

The target behind all this is to lift local value addition in electronics manufacturing from 18-20% today to nearly 35% by 2030. The centrepiece is Tata Electronics’ $11-billion silicon fab in Gujarat, built with Taiwan’s PSMC.

It will produce chips in the 28-110nm range, the kind used heavily in cars, industrial gear and connectivity devices, with planned capacity of around 50,000 wafers a month.

Tata has also tied up with ASML on lithography equipment and with Intel on broader ecosystem support.

The back-end of the chain is already running, not just planned. Micron’s Sanand plant became India’s first operational ATMP facility in February 2026.

Kaynes Technology started its OSAT plant in March, CG Power began commercial production in July alongside Japan’s Renesas, and a separate Tata facility in Assam is under construction with production expected in 2027.

A second phase is on the way too, worth about $13 billion, widening support to equipment, materials, chip design and R&D. The government is projecting close to $42 billion in fresh investment from this round alone.

The timing isn’t accidental. Prime Minister Narendra Modi opens Semicon India 2026 in Delhi this week, and semiconductor expert Chris Miller, author of Chip War, said India’s strategy of spreading focus across fabrication, design and packaging is the right one, since a large share of industry value actually sits in design rather than fabrication alone.

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