India Unveils $20 Billion Semiconductor, Smartphone Push

India's Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved 1.9 trillion rupees ($19.7 billion) in funding for domestic semiconductor and smartphone manufacturing amid increasing competition from players like China. Of the total, 1.28 trillion rupees will fund Semicon 2.0, a second-phase expansion of India's semiconductor push, while 625 billion rupees will go toward the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme, according to two separate government releases. India launched its Semicon 1.0 program in December 2021 with an outlay of 760 billion rupees. To date, the program has helped fund 12 manufacturing units with a total investment of 1.64 trillion rupees. A total of 24 semiconductor design projects from startups and MSMEs have also been approved for funding. Meanwhile, Semicon 2.0 is built on what the government calls six pillars, including chip design, manufacturing equipment and materials, new fabrication plants, assembly and testing facilities, research and development, and talent development. On design, the government said 105 startups are already developing chips. "Under Semicon 2.0, the aim is to develop IPs, designs of chips and systems with this approach. The work under Semicon 2.0 will.