Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
India Semiconductor Mission (ISM)
"A Rs 76,000 crore ($10 billion) initiative under MeitY to build a domestic semiconductor and display fabrication ecosystem, offering up to 50% capital subsidy for fab units."
The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) was launched in 2021 under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) as part of the broader goal to make India a global semiconductor manufacturing hub. The mission operates under the Digital India Corporation and offers a comprehensive package of incentives. The mission provides up to 50% capital subsidy for semiconductor fabrication (fab) units, up to 50% for display fab units, and up to Rs 15 crore per chip design under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme. It also supports Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facilities. Key projects under ISM include: Tata Electronics fab at Dholera, Gujarat (with Taiwan's PSMC as technology partner) for 28nm-65nm chips; Micron Technology's ATMP (Assembly, Test, Marking, and Packaging) facility at Sanand, Gujarat ($2.75 billion investment); CG Power OSAT facility at Sanand with Japan's Renesas; and HCL's proposed fab at Greater Noida, UP. The semiconductor supply chain requires critical inputs including high-purity silicon, rare gases (neon, argon, helium, krypton), ultra-pure water, and specialised chemicals. India currently imports virtually all of these, making the ISM dependent on global supply chain stability.
Critical for GS3 (Economy — industrial policy, self-reliance) and GS3 (S&T — semiconductor technology). Questions cover: ISM budget, incentive structure, key projects, supply chain dependencies, and comparison with global semiconductor programmes (US CHIPS Act, EU Chips Act).
- 1 Budget: Rs 76,000 crore (~$10 billion); launched 2021 under MeitY
- 2 Capital subsidy: Up to 50% for fab and display fab units
- 3 DLI: Design Linked Incentive — up to Rs 15 crore per chip design
- 4 Tata-PSMC fab: Dholera, Gujarat (28nm-65nm); under construction
- 5 Micron ATMP: Sanand, Gujarat ($2.75 billion); nearing completion
- 6 CG Power OSAT: Sanand, Gujarat (with Renesas, Japan)
- 7 Key supply chain inputs: Silicon, helium, neon, ultra-pure water, photoresists
- 8 EUV lithography machines: Only made by ASML (Netherlands); cost ~$150 million each
- 9 Global context: US CHIPS Act ($52 billion), EU Chips Act (43 billion euros)
The March 2026 helium crisis — triggered by the attack on Qatar's Ras Laffan hub — exposed a critical vulnerability in ISM: the Tata-PSMC fab at Dholera requires continuous helium supply for CVD processes and EUV lithography, but India has no domestic helium production or strategic reserve.