India poised to seize historic semiconductor opportunity, says Infosys executive

India is experiencing a "once-in-a-generation demand window" in semiconductors and must capitalize on it by transitioning from being an engineering hub to becoming an innovation centre, Infosys Senior Vice President Vikram Meghal said at SEMICON India 2026 on Friday.

The semiconductor industry is undergoing fundamental transformation, Meghal noted, with artificial intelligence, geopolitical supply chain disruptions, and the end of Moore's Law as a design principle reshaping how chips are developed and deployed. Unlike the past, when chip capabilities drove application design, workload requirements are now determining chip architecture, he explained.

The opportunity is substantial. Global AI data centre spending is projected to reach USD 6.7 trillion in coming years, with 50 per cent allocated to compute, memory, and networking chips alone. This represents a significant opportunity for Indian companies to expand their footprint across the semiconductor value chain.

Meghal identified three strategic opportunities for India: the domestic market through "Made for India" initiatives, high-value engineering services under "Engineered in India," and critically, developing indigenous chip design and systems capabilities under "Invent in India." The last category remains India's greatest frontier, requiring sustained investment in talent, research, and manufacturing infrastructure to build global competitiveness in semiconductor design and innovation.