12 MoUs announced at Semicon India 2025: Bharat as a lighthouse of stability

India’s semiconductor journey reached a historic milestone on Sept. 2 as the first set of Made-in-India chips from a pilot line was presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw at Semicon India 2025.

Launched in December 2021, the India Semiconductor Mission has achieved the transition from approvals to production in just three and a half years, a feat described by the Union Minister as a moment of pride thanking the Prime Minister for his farsighted vision, strong will and decisive  action. Vaishnaw also said that, from 7.8% GDP growth to a growing semiconductor ecosystem with first ‘Made in India’ chips, Bharat stands as a lighthouse of stability.

Vaishnaw emphasized that India’s semiconductor mission is built on trust respecting intellectual property rights, supporting supply chain development, and promoting co-development models with global partners. “India has always gone to the world as a partner, fostering mutual growth and win-win collaborations,” he said, adding that this trusted position is one of India’s strongest advantages in the global value chain.

Next, 12 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were also announced during Semicon India 2025. These agreements focus on enhancing product development, expanding service capabilities, and strengthening the skill development sector, with the aim of building a self-reliant and future-ready semiconductor ecosystem in the country.

To further strengthen innovation, Vaishnaw announced the formation of the Deep Tech Alliance, with close to a billion dollars already committed. Initially focusing on semiconductors, the Alliance will expand to other frontier sectors such as clean energy, biotechnology, quantum technologies, and space. The Minister said this would provide much-needed venture capital support for emerging deep tech industries.

The Union Minister stated that the Semiconductor Laboratory, Mohali modernization program is progressing well, aimed at increasing production levels, enabling new product tape-outs, and strengthening India’s high-value, mid-volume manufacturing capacity. 

Building on the success of ISM 1.0, the Government is also preparing to launch ISM 2.0, which will broaden the support for fabs, OSAT units, capital equipment, and materials to cover the entire semiconductor value chain.

The Union Minister stated that exports will be an integral part of the ten approved projects, ensuring that chips made in India will serve both domestic and global markets. Independent studies indicate that semiconductor production in India is already 15-30% more cost-competitive compared to global benchmarks. 

Vaishnaw underlined that India never rushed through project approvals, but ensured professional assessment for sustainable progress. With two fabs already in place and more in the pipeline, India is building momentum in an industry where, once the foundation is set, growth accelerates exponentially.

At SEMICON India 2025, every major global stakeholder in the semiconductor ecosystem, including equipment and material leaders such as ASML, Lam Research, Applied Materials, Merck, and Tokyo Electron, marked their presence. Vaishnaw said that their participation reflected the strong confidence the world has in India’s semiconductor mission, steered under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In a unique initiative, 20 chips designed and manufactured by Indian students at the Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) were also presented to the Prime Minister. Vaishnaw informed that with 78 universities across the country using advanced EDA tools, India is creating a deep talent pool that already accounts for nearly 20% of the global semiconductor workforce. Talent development and innovation, he said, remain at the heart of the Mission.

India is also nurturing its design and startup ecosystem, with more than 28 startups moving from project to product. Recent MoUs cover complete IoT chipsets and camera systems, while institutions such as IIT Madras have released indigenous microcontrollers and processors. The Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme has generated a portfolio of valuable IPs, and 25 priority products have been identified for development.

With an industry projection of USD 1 trillion by 2030 and India’s strong positioning in talent, trust, and technology, the nation is poised to emerge as a global leader in semiconductors, delivering on the Prime Minister’s vision of making India the semiconductor hub for the world.

MOUs / Announcements at SEMICON India 2025
* MoU between Tata Electronics and Merck to strengthen Semiconductor Capabilities in India in the area of manufacturing and packaging.

* MoU between Tata Electronics and Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC_ to develop domestic semiconductor design and IP ecosystem.

* Announcement to kickoff joint development of India’s first fully localized automotive camera module, launched by Kaynes Semicon, in collaboration with SPARSH-IQ. 3rdiTech, Focally and SenseSemi Technologies.

* Announcement to deliver India’s first MEMs Microphone and Advanced Semiconductor Packages by Kaynes Semicon, in collaboration with Infineon.

* Announcement to kickoff for joint development for Make-in-India Secure Chip, embedded with Smart Operating System, designed to power the next generation of digital identity solution – such as electronic passports – built on a scalable security architecture by L&T Semiconductor in collaboration with IIT Gandhinagar and C-DAC

* MoU between L&T Semiconductor and IISc Bangalore to build a National Innovation Hub for semiconductor research and quantum leadership.

* Unveiling of India’s first IoT Evolution Board integrating the indigenous VEGA processor by C-DAC with Bluetooth and LoRa connectivity by Indiesemic – a woman co-led domestic startup at Gujarat.

* MoU between NIELIT and Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association (SSIA) to promote semiconductor skilling, industry academia linkages, and capacity building in semiconductor technologies.

* MoU between ISM and New Age Makers Institute of Technology (NAMTECH) to establish a collaborating framework to build a future-ready talent pipeline for India’s rapidly growing semiconductor ecosystem, while advancing applied research and innovation in line with ISM’s national roadmap.

* MoU between the Arizona State University and India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) on scientific and educational collaboration.

* MoU among C-DAC, Synopsys, and IIT Madras Pravartak to provide flexible access of Synopsys IPs to approved companies under the DLI Scheme.

* Announcement on the availability of design infrastructure support to approved companies under the DLI scheme which includes the following:

IP core from
a) ITC Korea
b) Secure IC
c) Cadence Design Systems
d) Analogue Bits

EDA tools from
a) Sim Yog Technologies
b) Cadre Design Systems

Post-Silicon validation services from
a) Emerson Global
b) Smartsoc Solutions
c) Cyient Semiconductor.