NEW DELHI: India has already seen semiconductor investment interest worth USD 11-12 billion, or about Rs 1 lakh crore, following the announcement of Semicon 2.0, with the government expecting the new phase of its chip programme to create at least one lakh jobs, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday.

The investment commitments span a broad swathe of the semiconductor ecosystem, including equipment, materials, gases, chemicals, assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP) units, substrates and even wafers, Vaishnaw said at a press conference during SEMICON India 2026.

"As of today, that is the commitment we have already received under Semicon 2.0," he said, pegging the investment at about USD 11-12 billion spread over a period of 2-3 years.

Vaishnaw declined to disclose the companies involved, saying several investors did not want their names revealed yet and would make announcements after securing approvals from their boards and shareholders.

"In terms of employment potential, we can very clearly see in the entire ecosystem close to one lakh new employment getting created... It will be significantly more than that. I'm just being very conservative," Vaishnaw said.

The minister said Semicon 2.0 marks a shift from laying the foundation of India's semiconductor industry to building a full-fledged ecosystem encompassing chip design, equipment and materials, fabs, advanced packaging, research and development, and talent.

"Semicon 1.0 was all about setting the foundation, making sure that we learn to walk, and Semicon 2.0 is more about getting the ecosystem in place for a journey, which is 1,000 miles, a long journey," he said.

Under the second phase, the government will push semiconductor design companies, both startups and larger players, through support for investment, tooling, design, IT infrastructure, deployment and customer discovery.

Vaishnaw struck an optimistic note on India's prospects of creating home-grown global semiconductor majors.

"I can say that your generation will see Qualcomm coming from India," he said.

He termed venture capital funding secured by 20 deep-tech semiconductor startups under the first phase a "very big achievement", saying the government had initially not expected more than one or two such companies to attract VC funding.

Another major focus under Semicon 2.0 will be attracting semiconductor equipment, materials, chemicals and gas companies to build operations in India.

Vaishnaw cited Japan's semiconductor ecosystem as an example, noting that its strong base of materials, equipment, chemical and gas manufacturers helped the country rebuild high-end chip manufacturing capabilities.

For India to sustain semiconductor growth over the next two to three decades, a similar ecosystem would be critical, he said.

"I am very excited by the capital equipment and the material and gas and chemical manufacturers who are coming to India as a part of their expansion plans," Vaishnaw said, adding that companies are also looking to deepen research and diversify supply chains.

The government also plans a significant expansion of semiconductor talent development. While around 400 universities and institutes are already teaching chip design under the first phase, Semicon 2.0 will seek to move students from chip design towards the more complex area of systems design.

Separately, the government has set a large target of training technicians and plans to work with industry and institutions such as Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to build training facilities for upcoming semiconductor factories.

On the challenges facing India's semiconductor ambitions, Vaishnaw flagged global macroeconomic risks and concentration of supply chains.

He said high debt accumulated in developed economies could hurt the investment environment if it unwinds in a disorderly manner, affecting global investment and fund flows, including into India.

"If that debt unwinds in a way that is not very orderly, then it will be difficult for investors who would like to come to India because the investment atmosphere can be vitiated," he said, adding that this is a challenge not just for the semiconductor sector but for all global investments.

The second major challenge, according to the minister, is concentration in semiconductor supply chains. While this is also pushing companies to diversify and build more resilient supply networks, it can create constraints that are difficult to overcome.

"The semiconductor industry is not an easy industry. Had it been easy, then many countries would have done it," he said, stressing that India would have to calibrate its moves keeping in mind the industry's complexity.

Vaishnaw also said companies themselves would decide where to locate semiconductor manufacturing units in India, based on factors, including government support and the strength of local ecosystems.

"Industry chooses the location depending upon where they feel more comfortable, how much policy certainty they see, what kind of support they see from governments, from the other ecosystem players," he said.

On the strength of India's emerging semiconductor production, the minister said quality and cost had been central considerations while selecting projects since the beginning of the programme.