In administration, a large industrial project rarely arrives as a single matter. Land is handled in one office, power in another, water elsewhere, and environmental clearances through a separate process. Skill development belongs to another set of institutions. Each department has a defined responsibility. The investor sees one project.
This distinction will shape the next phase of India’s semiconductor programme.
The Union government approved the Semicon India Programme in December 2021 with an outlay of ₹76,000 crore. It has since cleared 12 manufacturing projects and 24 chip-design projects. Commercial production has begun at the Micron, Kaynes Semicon and CG Power facilities. The Union Budget for 2026-27 announced India Semiconductor Mission 2.0, covering equipment, materials, Indian intellectual property, research, training and supply chains. The Budget allocated ₹1,000 crore to the new mission for the year.
READ | India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 faces the import test
NITI Aayog’s Future of India’s Semiconductor Industry sets a target of building a semiconductor value chain worth $120-150 billion by 2035. Its five pillars cover research, investment, production, people and partnerships. NITI Aayog
India has a large pool of chip designers, a growing electronics industry and a domestic market that can support investment. Project approvals and the start of commercial production have taken the programme beyond announcements. The harder administrative work begins outside the factory gate.
Semiconductor manufacturing needs project-level coordination
A fabrication or advanced packaging plant requires uninterrupted power, semiconductor-grade water, specialised logistics, clean operating conditions, skilled workers and reliable suppliers. Failure in one service can hold up the plant.
Land, water, power, roads, housing, transport and training must therefore follow the project schedule. The company builds the plant. State departments, infrastructure agencies, educational institutions and local bodies determine whether the site around it works.
States already have single-window systems, industrial corridors and investment-promotion agencies. Semiconductor projects need a more exact arrangement: an empowered coordination group, a named nodal officer and one implementation schedule covering all departments.
Digital platforms can record approvals and deadlines. They cannot resolve a delayed power line, settle conflicting departmental instructions or ensure that a training course produces workers when recruitment begins. Those tasks require officers with authority to intervene.
READ | India Semiconductor Mission enters its hardest phase
Semiconductor investors experience one government
A company does not distinguish between departments when a project is delayed. A power connection completed on schedule has little value if the access road or water supply is late. A training programme serves no purpose if its graduates lack the skills required by the plant.
Departmental reviews usually measure whether an individual approval has been issued or a particular work completed. A semiconductor project needs reviews against a common construction and production schedule.
This does not call for a new agency at every site. The Centre, state government and district administration can nominate officers, assign responsibilities and record commitments under one project plan. Escalation must be quick enough to protect the company’s installation and production dates.
Semiconductor site readiness does not end with land allotment
Site readiness is often treated as a requirement for attracting investment. For semiconductor plants, it continues through construction, equipment installation, trial runs and commercial production.
The requirements change at each stage. Heavy construction traffic gives way to sensitive equipment movement. Recruitment shifts from contractors to technicians and production staff. Demand grows for housing, public transport, waste handling and emergency services. Suppliers begin operating near the plant.
A site-readiness plan should be revised as the project moves through these stages. It should identify the agency responsible for each utility or service and the date by which it must be available. Departments can then prepare for demand instead of responding after a shortage appears.
Such planning also gives state and district administrations a better view of the activity that may develop around the plant. A semiconductor investment can support testing, maintenance, logistics and other services, but only if land, skills and infrastructure are available when firms begin looking for locations.
READ | India Semiconductor Mission enters the production phase
Semiconductor skills must extend beyond engineers
India’s chip-design talent is an advantage, but manufacturing requires a broader workforce. Fabs and packaging plants employ technicians, diploma holders, equipment operators, maintenance workers, quality-control staff, clean-room workers and safety personnel.
Universities, engineering colleges, polytechnics and Industrial Training Institutes near project sites should begin preparing before production starts. Industry can specify job roles and equipment requirements. Institutions can revise courses, train instructors and add modules in electronics, equipment maintenance, industrial safety, clean-room practice and quality control.
A state or district hosting a plant should map expected recruitment against the courses offered by nearby institutions. Some courses may need substantial revision. Others may require a short module or practical training agreed with the company.
The purpose is to create credible routes into the industry for students from ITIs and polytechnics as well as engineering colleges. Without those routes, many jobs will be filled from outside the region while local institutions continue teaching courses that employers do not use.
District admnistration connects semiconductor plants with their location
Semiconductor policy is made by the Union government and most investment facilitation occurs at the state level. The plant, however, operates in a district.
It uses district roads and local services, recruits workers and deals with nearby communities. The district administration can connect the company with local bodies, skill institutions and infrastructure agencies. It can also spot pressure on transport, housing or civic services before it disrupts the project or causes friction with residents.
This role does not extend to the company’s technical decisions. It concerns coordination and local preparation.
A district facilitation group can also inform local firms about work in transport, maintenance, catering, housing, packaging and other services. Few will qualify to supply semiconductor equipment or specialised chemicals. Many can serve the economy that grows around the plant.
Semiconductor supplier development requires a practical map
The semiconductor value chain includes equipment, industrial gases, chemicals, components, packaging materials, testing, logistics and specialised maintenance. Indian plants will depend on overseas suppliers in several of these areas for some time.
Each approved project nevertheless gives domestic firms a chance to enter parts of the supply chain. A state can prepare a supplier map identifying the plant’s likely requirements, qualified firms already operating in India and products or services for which local capacity could be developed.
Industry associations and technical institutions can use the map to organise vendor training, quality certification and partnerships with established suppliers. This is more useful than a general call for localisation.
Attempting to make every input in India would waste capital and delay production. The first candidates for domestic supply should be those for which Indian firms have relevant capabilities, adequate demand and a reasonable path to meeting the plant’s quality standards.
India Semiconductor Mission needs institutional memory
Semiconductor projects take years to move from approval to stable production. Officers are transferred, departmental responsibilities change and the plant’s requirements evolve.
A common digital record should preserve decisions, commitments, deadlines and the reasons for changes. The record must follow the project rather than the tenure of an officer. New officials should be able to see what was promised, what has been completed and which issue remains unresolved.
Project reviews should examine the entire schedule, not count approvals. A clearance issued on time cannot compensate for a utility delivered after equipment installation is due.
India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 has extended policy beyond fabrication to equipment, materials, design intellectual property, research and skills. The administrative model must widen with it. The 12 approved plants should become the anchors of industrial clusters, rather than isolated factories dependent on repeated intervention from Delhi or state capitals.
Chips will be made in clean rooms. Whether those clean rooms begin production on schedule will depend on decisions taken in power departments, training institutions, municipal offices and district collectorates.
Dr Abdul Khabir is a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service.