India has launched Semicon 2.0, targeting at least 200 chip-design startups and 100,000 technicians as it expands beyond fabrication plants. Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the program will cover six pillars: chip design, machines and materials, semiconductor fabs (manufacturing plants), advanced packaging, research and development, and talent development. The initiative builds on Semicon 1.0, under which more than 105 startups began developing chips and about 20 raised roughly Rs 800 crore. The new phase will use a co-investment model matching approved venture capital investments rupee for rupee on identical terms. Approved by the Union Cabinet in July with an outlay of Rs 1.3 trillion, Semicon 2.0 also seeks to train workers for clean-room and factory-floor roles, while linking academia and industry on private-sector-led applied research.