New Delhi: In a bold demonstration of India’s technological ambitions, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw unveiled a palm-sized model of a homegrown semiconductor wafer, highlighting the nation’s growing capabilities in chip design and digital innovation. Speaking at a technology summit in Delhi, the Minister emphasized that semiconductors, alongside initiatives in digital credit, high-speed mobile connectivity, and large language models (LLMs), are central to India’s digital-led growth story.
Vaishnaw pointed out that India now hosts 20 percent of the world’s design engineering talent, allowing the country to produce chips at 2-nanometer technology, the most advanced and complex in the world. “Earlier it used to be 5 or 7 nanometers. Today, 2-nanometer chips are being designed in India,” he said, noting that these chips are extraordinarily small 10,000 times thinner than human hair and capable of performing vast computational tasks.
Holding the wafer to illustrate his point, the Minister remarked, “The semiconductor industry is extremely complex. The precision required to work at such tiny scales is immense. Yet, India is now producing these chips domestically, marking a major milestone in technological self-reliance.”
Vaishnaw’s demonstration reflects India’s ambition to compete with global semiconductor leaders, a sector traditionally dominated by a handful of international players. By leveraging domestic engineering talent and a focused innovation ecosystem, India aims to make a significant impact on the global chip market, while also powering applications in AI, fintech, and digital infrastructure.
The showcase serves as a tangible symbol of India’s emerging role as a technology innovator, signaling that the country is moving beyond being a mere consumer of global technology to becoming a key player in semiconductor design and advanced digital systems.