By Erick The MOST important news this week is the new semiconductor that is completely Made in India. See my blog post about why this is such a big deal. And if you want to draw parallels, just look at Taiwan’s tech dominance – solely because of semiconductors during an era when they were not even as important as they are now.
Here is some semiconductor news from Tech India this week:
- IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that a telecom system built with indigenously manufactured chips has secured TEC (Telecommunication Engineering Center) certification. Vaishnaw described the achievement as a “big leap for India’s semiconductor story.” He noted that for the first time, a telecom system powered by Indian-made chips has successfully cleared all standards and quality tests.
- Kaynes Semicon, the semiconductor arm of Kaynes Technology India, is set to deliver its first Made-in-India semiconductor chip by the first week of October 2025.
- Top brass from India and Singapore released a joint statement, where the two leaders agreed to “support the growth of India’s semiconductor industry and ecosystem, including through cooperation under the India-Singapore Semiconductor Policy Dialogue; facilitating partnerships with Singapore companies; advancing resilient semiconductor supply chains; exploring mutually beneficial research and development collaborations; promoting workforce development; and encouraging business-to-business cooperation…”
- NX Group (Nippon Express Group) reaffirmed its commitment to India’s semiconductor industry at SEMICON India 2025, unveiling plans to triple revenue in the country to USD 400 million by 2028. With 103 offices and 60 warehouses nationwide, NX Group (India) is developing dedicated semiconductor logistics hubs and exploring freight corridor and coastal shipping solutions.
- PM Modi attends the CEO Forum at Semicon India 2025.
- Tokyo Electron, which makes equipment for semiconductor production, is looking to set up offices at Dholera in Gujarat and in Assam to support Tata Electronics’ upcoming fab and assembly and test units, a senior executive at the Japanese company said.
- Intel (which had 10% of its stake acquired by the US Government – imagine that!) along with its partners, is establishing a semiconductor plant for 3D Glass Solutions in Odisha. Intel’s CEO is scheduled to visit India in the next 2-3 months.
- US-based semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials has leased 8.06 lakh sq. ft. of office space in Whitefield, Bangalore for Rs 855 crore over 10 years, according to documents accessed by Indian real estate publication Propstack.
- Aside from manufacturing, a report from Bastion Research revealed that around 20% of the world’s chip design engineers are already based in India.
It’s hard to overstate how important this is for tech globally, let alone Tech India. I have been saying this for a while but don’t just take my word for it. According to a report by Yes Securities, more and more MNCs are looking to enter joint ventures with local companies to begin operations in India’s semiconductor industry.
This has political implications as well. The US’ interest in Taiwan for decades – which to a rational person it had no business influencing – is only because of Taiwan’s leading position in the global semiconductor market. The same US, threatened to block US companies from outsourcing to India which could hugely impact India’s IT industry (remember I said that companies like Infosys and TCS built ‘body bags’ companies?). But rest assured, today the IT Minster stated that the Government is staying in touch with the US to ensure continuation of the industry. For now.
I had a shower thought this morning – anything that computes requires a semiconductor. Therefore, all (or atleast most) ‘tech news’ is…. semiconductor news?
Anyway, here’s some non-semiconductor related news from this week in Tech India:
- OpenAI revealed plans to build one of the country’s largest artificial intelligence data centres. The facility is expected to have at least 1 gigawatt of capacity, making it a project of huge scale. Btw for those interested, read this great piece from CNBC about what OpenAI is doing in India and why. And read my piece about why everyone wants a piece of the India AI pie.
- Indian online gaming giant Mobile Premier League (MPL) has announced a massive downsizing of its India operations, laying off about 60% of its workforce. The decision was made after the Indian government’s recent ban on paid online games.
- Flipkart acquires majority stake in content platform Pinkvilla, in an apparent bid to woo Gen Z customers.
- Google parent Alphabet ramps up its Pixel production in India, including for the Pixel 10 series, with plans to export from India. This is part of a strategy to diversify manufacturing among US Tariff concerns.
- BSNL to soon launch its own digital payment service, BSNL Pay, expe To compete with PhonePe and others. The new offering will be powered by the BHIM UPI framework and integrated directly into the company’s existing Selfcare app, rather than released as a separate application.
- SEBI approved 13 IPOs this week that include two Indian tech giants: boAt and Urban Company. These IPOs can be launched in the next one year.
- The Indian government is looking for an investor to put $1 billion into Vodafone Idea. The investor would get a 12-13% stake. Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone may reduce their shares. Seems like the government wants the company to survive, but not infuse our taxpayer money into it.
- Global aerospace and defence technology leader Rolls-Royce (yes, the one that makes the fancy cars) has expressed strong interest in expanding its footprint in the state. According to the Tamil Nadu Government, the UK-headquartered firm plans to establish a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility, a research and training centre and significantly expand its IAMPL joint venture in Hosur.
- Apple recently opened two new retail stores in India, in Pune at Apple Koregaon Park and in Bengaluru at Apple Hebbal. This makes it a total of four Apple stores in India (the other two being in Delhi and Mumbai).
- Conversational AI company Gupshup has carried out another round of layoffs, this time letting go of at least 100 employees, including junior developers, as per sources. The move comes barely four months after an earlier round of cutbacks in which close to 200 employees were let go. If you’re wondering, Gupshup is headquartered in San Francisco and is a 20 year old company, but last year only it became a ‘conversational AI’ company. Meh.
- UIDAI is working on a new mobile application called “e-Aadhaar” that could allow people to update their Aadhaar information right from their phones—no office visits, no long waits.
- Dunzo is officially admitted into insolvency. Sad. End of an era, really.
Then there is the news about the GST reforms. Largely, GST has been reduced and here are the revised rates for tech-related segments:
- Consumer durables: TVs (LCD/LED) (> 32’), ACs, dishwashers: 28% → 18%.
- Small cars, two-wheelers ≤350cc: 28%→ 18% and Buses, trucks, three-wheelers, all auto parts: 28% → 18% (not specified if different rate for electric vehicles, assumed it’s the same).
- Food and grocery delivery gets an 18% GST levy.
So, er, now is a good time to buy that 43 inch LED TV. Or maybe a car?
Boy, that was a lot of news. It’s hard work, being a solo content creator in this space! But I’m beyond encouraged to keep doing this week-in and week out, thanks to the support of people like you. It would mean the world to me, if you haven’t already, to subscribe to my YouTube channel. And don’t forget to return here next week for next week’s Tech India news roundup!