Gap in core chip manufacturing, equipment capabilities: Industry executives

While India has traditionally excelled in chip design and application development, top semiconductor equipment makers pointed to a gap in core semiconductor manufacturing and equipment capabilities, Radhika Viswanathan, chief operating officer of semiconductor equipment manufacturer Applied Materials, said in an address.

She was speaking at the India Electronics and Semiconductors Association (IESA) Vision Summit here on Wednesday.

American supplier of wafer-fabrication equipment Lam Research Managing Director Rangesh Raghavan highlighted a $50 billion supply chain opportunity, and expanded R&D investments.


Raghavan said the semiconductor industry is on the cusp of crossing the trillion-dollar mark, fuelled by explosive growth in artificial intelligence (AI). The equipment segment, he said, has seen dramatic value creation with the top four global equipment makers ASML (Netherlands); Applied Materials (US); Tokyo Electron (Japan) and Lam Research (US) together exceeding a trillion dollars in market capitalisation.

Building India’s ‘missing middle’

“What we are missing is the middle: the equipment manufacturing, chip fabrication and end-to-end device systems,” Viswanathan said.

To address this, she called for plug-and-play industrial zones with infrastructure readiness, including land, power, water and logistics; policy frameworks ensuring global parity in time-to-production; indigenous development of materials, chemicals, gases and spare parts; strong ESG and sustainability leadership; and deep university-industry partnerships and research labs.

Viswanathan urged policymakers and industry leaders to think beyond manufacturing incentives and focus on innovation frameworks, IP commercialisation and ease of doing business.

“As we build this ecosystem, we must think about make plus invent,” she said. “No one company can do this alone. Everyone is an equal partner in enabling this.”

India is preparing to launch the next phase of its semiconductor mission with a broader ecosystem focus, enhanced funding support, and deeper global integration, India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) chief executive Amitesh Kumar Sinha said at the summit.

With formalities underway for ISM 2.0, the mission will expand to include ecosystem elements such as specialty chemicals, gases, materials, and other supply chain components, he said.

The next phase will also focus on stronger startup support, including higher funding access, land facilitation, and market linkages. Incentives for semiconductor design, manufacturing, and packaging will continue, he added.

India has signed multiple memoranda of understanding and free trade agreements (FTAs) with key global partners, including the United States, European Union, Japan, Singapore, and the Netherlands. More recent FTAs with Oman, Australia, New Zealand, and the UAE are expected to strengthen India’s export prospects.

“These agreements foster trust and open global markets for Indian semiconductor products,” Sinha said, adding that international collaborations have been instrumental in attracting foreign investment and technology transfer.

A new grievance and query portal under ISM is being developed to assist foreign companies in resolving customs, policy, and state-level issues through a centralised mechanism, he said.