India's semiconductor mission accelerates with 4 plants in 2024: Vaishnaw

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw says India's Semiconductor Mission is accelerating, with two plants in production, a third starting in July, and a fourth by December. He also noted progress on 12 factories and tax breaks for data centres.

India's Semiconductor Push

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday highlighted that India's Semiconductor Mission is accelerating, with two plants already in commercial production, a third semiconductor manufacturing factory slated to begin commercial production in July and a fourth facility set to begin this November or December. The minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology, announced this in his address at the CII Annual Business Summit 2026 today.

"The most heartening thing is the semiconductor manufacturing. In 1962, we started this journey. We tried so many times, so many prime ministers tried. Prime Minister Nehru tried, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi tried, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi tried, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh tried. They all tried. Finally, the success came to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and today we have two factories which are already doing commercial production. The third factory should start commercial production in July. The fourth should start somewhere in November or December," Vaishnaw said.

The Union Minister said that work on 12 semiconductor factories is currently in progress, marking a major step towards building a strong domestic chip ecosystem.

Boosting Data Centres and Digital Infrastructure

Vaishnaw said the government is also aggressively promoting data centres and digital infrastructure. He referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policy announcement exempting data centres from taxation till 2047, which he said has encouraged nearly USD 200 billion in investments.

"We are very focused on data centres. Till 2047, we are not putting any tax on data centres. That decision is very important for our country," the Minister stated.

AI Ecosystem Growth

In the field of Artificial Intelligence, Vaishnaw said job opportunities are growing by 15-20 per cent annually and noted that Google has agreed to manufacture AI servers in India, further strengthening the country's technology ecosystem.

Navigating Global Economic Challenges

Addressing global economic uncertainties, the Minister said India has successfully managed challenges arising from geopolitical conflicts and energy price volatility through prudent policymaking. "We are living in very turbulent times. For no fault of ours, the entire world is getting affected by geopolitical conflicts. But India has managed the crisis effectively," he said.

Calling upon industries and citizens to contribute towards economic resilience, Vaishnaw urged greater focus on exports and reduction in avoidable imports to conserve foreign exchange reserves.

Expressing confidence in India's economic outlook, the Minister said the country will continue to grow at 6-8 per cent annually while keeping inflation under control. "India will emerge as a winner from the current geopolitical turbulence," Vaishnaw stated. (ANI)

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