India’s Techade drive: Five key moves in chips, electronics, AI and global competition

India’s “Techade” is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name for a decade focused on building national technology strength. The goal is to make India a global technology powerhouse, not only a user of imported systems. The drive matters because India wants more control over vital hardware, digital infrastructure and advanced industries.

Its targets include semiconductor production, chip design, electronics manufacturing, artificial intelligence and data centres. The government is supporting chip plants, training design engineers and encouraging companies such as Apple and Samsung to expand electronics production. It is also backing large data-centre projects and an AI hub in Visakhapatnam.

The effort is growing, but the gap with the United States, China and South Korea remains large. India has increased electronics output sharply and approved several chip projects. Still, it must attract capital and talent, secure hardware resources, and turn separate investments into a competitive technology ecosystem.

India’s technology push combines major public support with ambitious market and employment targets. New Delhi has pledged more than US$20 billion for semiconductors. The chip market is estimated at about US$50 billion in 2026 and projected to reach US$110 billion by 2030, then more than US$200 billion by 2035.

Electronics production already grew from about US$31 billion in 2014-15 to US$133 billion in 2024-25. Data-centre construction represents nearly US$70 billion, while another US$90 billion has been announced. Google alone is building a US$15 billion AI hub in Visakhapatnam. These figures show the scale of infrastructure India is trying to create.

AI also has a workforce target. The government expects AI-linked jobs to nearly double to 1.25 million by 2027. These plans are large, but delivery depends on capital, skilled workers and access to the hardware needed by advanced technologies.

Making a chip means carrying out the core manufacturing process that creates semiconductor devices. It also depends on advanced research and specialised expertise. This stage is central to developing the chip itself, rather than preparing a completed device for use.

Assembly, testing and packaging happen later. A facility places the chip into a usable package, checks whether it works, and prepares it for integration into products. India currently has five plants in commercial production using this approach. They involve Micron, Kaynes, CDIL, Suchi Semicon and CG Semi, a joint venture involving India, Japan and Thailand.

This distinction explains why India’s progress is real but incomplete. The article says assembly, testing and packaging do not require the same expertise as core manufacturing and research. Tata Electronics is building a factory with Taiwan’s PSMC, but India still faces a long road toward a full semiconductor ecosystem.

Microchips power products from smartphones to weaponry, so relying heavily on imports leaves an important part of India’s technology base outside its control. India imported about US$150 billion worth of microchips between 2017 and 2025. Reducing that dependence is therefore described by New Delhi as an urgent national priority.

The government is offering more than US$20 billion in support for semiconductor projects. It has approved assembly, testing and packaging plants and is encouraging deeper local supply chains through incentives for component makers. At the same time, companies including Apple and Samsung are expanding electronics production in India as manufacturers diversify supply chains beyond China.

Local capability could connect chip projects with electronics factories and component suppliers. That could make India a stronger manufacturing hub and support its growing electronics output. However, the country still needs global capital, top talent and hardware resources, while core chip manufacturing and research remain difficult to build.

India’s technology expansion relies on both domestic companies and international partners. Semiconductor participants include US company Micron, Indian firms Kaynes, CDIL and Suchi Semicon, and CG Semi, a joint venture involving Indian, Japanese and Thai partners. Tata Electronics is building a Gujarat chip factory with Taiwan’s PSMC.

Electronics manufacturing includes Apple and Samsung, which have expanded production in India while diversifying supply chains beyond China. Indian conglomerates Reliance and Adani are investing in data centres. US technology companies Amazon, Microsoft and Meta are also investors in India’s expanding data-centre industry.

Google is building a US$15 billion AI hub in Visakhapatnam, making the southeastern port a major centre for the country’s digital infrastructure. These partnerships bring investment, production and expertise. India must still attract and retain top global talent, secure hardware resources and turn these projects into a connected technology ecosystem.

India’s AI expansion has two opposing workforce effects. It may create new roles linked to artificial intelligence, while also reducing demand for some existing work. The risk matters especially because India has a huge workforce and a vast IT-services sector, both of which could be exposed to automation and changing business needs.

Nomura, a Japanese investment bank, calls India “ground zero” for AI-driven job disruption in Asia. At the same time, the government expects AI-linked jobs to nearly double to 1.25 million by 2027. India is expanding semiconductor-related courses and programmes across hundreds of engineering colleges, while about 70,000 design engineers have been trained in four years.

These efforts could help workers move into new technology roles. They do not remove the possibility of job losses. India’s outcome will depend on whether education and training keep pace with AI adoption, and whether the country can retain the talent needed to build its technology industries.

Semiconductors are materials and electronic components used to control and process electrical signals. In the article, microchips are described as components that power everything from smartphones to weaponry. Their small size does not reduce their importance: they are basic building blocks for many modern electronic and digital systems.

Phones, weapons and AI data centres all depend on electronic hardware. Data centres provide the computing infrastructure behind large digital services and artificial intelligence. That makes semiconductor supply important not only for consumer products, but also for strategic capabilities and fast-growing digital infrastructure.

India imported about US$150 billion in microchips from 2017 to 2025, which helps explain its push for domestic production. The government has committed more than US$20 billion and calls semiconductor development an urgent national priority. India is expanding assembly and testing, but core manufacturing and research remain harder challenges.