India’s Electronics Sector Reaches New Heights
India has solidified its position as the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now charting a bold course for the country’s electronics future. On July 4, 2026, Modi inaugurated the CG Semi Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facility in Sanand, Gujarat, marking a key milestone in India’s journey from assembling phones to producing semiconductors domestically.
Speaking at the event, Modi emphasized that the plant represents the next logical step in a decade-long electronics revolution, moving the nation up the value chain and reinforcing its role in the global technology supply chain.
The Shift from Phones to Chips: Key Numbers
Modi highlighted India’s mobile manufacturing growth as the foundation for this shift. Since 2014, mobile phone production has surged approximately 33 times, making India the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer and exporter. Overall electronics production has increased nearly sevenfold, while electronics exports have grown almost elevenfold over the same period.
“The expansion of the semiconductor industry in India did not happen overnight. It is the next step in the electronics revolution that has taken place in India over the past decade,” Modi said. “First products, then components and now semiconductors… India is building the entire electronics value chain. This is the roadmap to Viksit Bharat. This is the next phase of Make in India.”
Inside the Sanand Plant and Production Targets
The Rs. 7,500 crore CG Semi facility has already begun commercial production of semiconductor packaging, with an initial annual target of 200 million chips. Modi expressed confidence that the plant will quickly scale toward a national goal of 500 million chips annually. Once the Sanand cluster is fully developed, he projected a daily output of 1.5 crore (15 million) chips.
The Prime Minister credited the project as a collaboration between Indian, Japanese, and Thai industry partners. He also praised the facility’s diverse workforce, which includes women trained in states like Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, with some employees receiving advanced training in Malaysia. Modi called them representatives of a ‘Mini India’ operating within a single plant.
Broader Make in India Push
Modi tied the Sanand launch to a broader national roadmap, noting that four operational semiconductor facilities are expected in 2026 alone. The government’s goal is to cover design, manufacturing, packaging, and testing capabilities entirely within India. He framed this as the next phase of Make in India and a building block toward a ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed India) vision.
He also pointed to parallel efforts to secure domestic access to critical and high-tech minerals needed to support long-term chip manufacturing, ensuring a resilient supply chain for the future.
Political Framing and Reactions
Modi used part of his address to contrast the current pace of semiconductor investment with what he described as a lack of follow-through on similar plans under previous governments, referencing past proposals that earmarked land near Gandhinagar and Sanand for chip projects but never materialized.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel also spoke at the event, reinforcing the state’s positioning as an emerging hub within India’s broader semiconductor mission.
