Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday pitched India as a reliable global hub for semiconductor production, urging technology companies to invest in the country’s growing chip industry.

Speaking at a semiconductor conference in New Delhi, Modi said chips produced in Indian facilities are already reaching customers in India and abroad. Executives from Tata Electronics, CG Power, Advantest, Applied Materials, ASML, Foxconn, Intel and Micron attended the event.

India launched its semiconductor push in 2021 to reduce dependence on imported chips and attract global investment. The government has since supported fabrication, design, packaging and testing projects, although critics say India remains behind established chipmaking centres such as Taiwan, Japan, China and the Netherlands.

Modi highlighted India’s plans to train 100,000 engineers for semiconductor projects and 10 million people in artificial intelligence, describing the country’s large talent pool as a major advantage for global technology firms.

India approved the “Semicon 2.0” programme in July, offering more than $13 billion in financial assistance to expand domestic chip production. The country’s semiconductor market has grown from $38 billion in 2023 to an estimated $45-$50 billion in 2024-25, with the government targeting $100-$110 billion by 2030.