India has opened the application portal for three pillars of its Semicon 2.0 programme and approved 12 additional applications under the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme. Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the steps on November 6. The new ECMS approvals carry a projected investment of ₹7,503 crore, expected production of ₹39,045 crore and 7,127 direct jobs, according to the government. The announcements combine a longer-term semiconductor policy framework with a fresh group of manufacturing projects intended to deepen domestic electronics supply chains.
The Semicon 2.0 portal is accepting applications for Pillar 2, covering machines and materials; Pillar 3, focused on additional fabrication plants; and Pillar 4, aimed at strengthening assembly, testing, marking and packaging operations, including ATMP and OSAT facilities. The wider programme has a fiscal outlay of ₹1,27,500 crore and six pillars in total. The other areas cover chip design, research and development, and talent development. The new portal So opens only part of the programme’s application process rather than every category at once.
The 12 ECMS approvals span ten target product segments. The government listed multi-layer printed circuit boards, relays, heat sinks and specialty ceramics among the components, alongside copper foil, anode material, cathode active material, polypropylene film, camera rims and capital goods. The approvals include first-time product-category approvals under the scheme for copper foil, cathode active material and specialty ceramics. The named applicants include NeST ICELR for multi-layer PCBs, TDConnex for relays, Modern Automotives for heat sinks and Voltix Semicon for specialty ceramics.
From assembly towards a broader supply chain
The policy objective is to expand domestic manufacturing beyond final assembly. Electronics products rely on a wide network of components, materials, production equipment and specialised processes. A country may assemble finished devices while still importing many of the parts and manufacturing inputs that determine cost, quality and supply security. Building more local suppliers can reduce some import dependence, create technical jobs and make production less vulnerable to disruptions in international supply chains. It also requires companies to meet demanding standards for yield, reliability, process control and customer qualification.
The newly approved manufacturing units are distributed across Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The geographic spread matters because electronics manufacturing depends on industrial land, power, logistics, skilled labour, supplier networks and access to customers. A project’s location can influence its operating costs and ability to integrate with other manufacturers. The state distribution also suggests that the scheme aims to build capacity across several manufacturing regions rather than concentrating every supported investment in one cluster.
The government said that, including the earlier approvals, the ECMS had 118 sanctioned applications covering 34 products across 16 states. The cumulative programme figures reported by the government are ₹77,051 crore in proposed investment, ₹5.73 lakh crore in projected production and 81,755 direct jobs. These are programme projections, not completed production or jobs already realised. The distinction is important because manufacturing projects move through land acquisition, construction, equipment installation, customer qualification and ramp-up before reaching their intended output.
Selection standards and execution risks
Vaishnaw said project selection would focus on quality, technological depth, research and development and global competitiveness. He also stressed that the programme was intended for serious applicants with the capability to execute projects rather than entities seeking approvals without a credible manufacturing plan. The government’s stated priorities include attracting at least three major equipment manufacturers and five companies in chemicals and gases. Those inputs are critical to semiconductor production, where specialised materials and equipment must meet strict technical specifications.
The portal launch and the 12 approvals are meaningful policy steps, but the test will be implementation. Applicants must submit viable plans, projects must reach construction and commissioning, and manufacturers must win orders in competitive markets. Semiconductor and component facilities also require sustained investment in skills, infrastructure and technology upgrades. The government’s figures set out the intended scale of the latest tranche. Actual progress will become clearer through construction milestones, production starts, customer contracts and audited operating results.