India Wants 1 Lakh Chip Engineers: MeitY Secretary on What Students Must Learn

At Semicon India 2026, MeitY Secretary S Krishnan said three ISM plants are already producing, with two to three more to start by end of year. ISM 2.0 with a budget of 1.27 trillion rupees will cover chip design, equipment, materials, and training; students were urged to learn AI and deeply know the subject to recognize model errors.

• Three ISM plants in commercial production, 2–3 more by end of 2026
• ISM 2.0 approved July 15, 2026, with 1.27 trillion rupees over 12 years
• First phase: 12 projects and over 1.64 trillion rupees investment
• Krishnan: AI must be taught in all disciplines, but expertise retained