Vaishnaw Maps India's Semiconductor and AI Push at CII Summit

Ashwini Vaishnaw laid out India's economic transformation strategy built on three pillars — railways, electronics and semiconductors, and artificial intelligence — at the CII Annual Business Summit 2026 in New Delhi. He presented sweeping progress across all three domains, crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for policy decisions that reversed decades of stagnation in semiconductor manufacturing, noting that previous administrations since 1962 had failed to deliver on chip production.

On semiconductors, Vaishnaw said two factories are already in commercial production, a third will begin operations in July 2026, a fourth is expected by November or December, and 12 additional facilities are under construction. On the data centre front, Modi's policy exempting data centres from taxation through 2047 has attracted nearly USD 200 billion in investments. Smartphones have overtaken diesel as India's largest exported commodity.

In artificial intelligence, Vaishnaw reported that AI-related job opportunities are growing 15 to 20 percent annually. HP has begun manufacturing AI servers in India, and Vaishnaw said he has requested Google and other companies to begin local server production as well. He also detailed plans for three new large subsea cable networks connecting India to Australia, the United States, the Middle East, Europe, and the Cape of Good Hope to bolster digital infrastructure. Vaishnaw urged industry to partner with Nasscom to train national talent for the technological shift.

On railways, capital expenditure surged from roughly Rs 66,000 crore to nearly Rs 2,72,000 crore over the last decade, with 49,000 kilometres of tracks electrified and 36,000 kilometres of new track added. Seven new high-speed rail corridors carrying an estimated Rs 16 lakh crore in investment are planned. Addressing global uncertainties, Vaishnaw projected India would sustain 6 to 8 percent annual growth with inflation under control, positioning the country to emerge stronger from geopolitical turbulence.