Modi Opens SEMICON India 2026 as Fujifilm Commits Rs 800 Crore, Chip Stocks Rally

Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally inaugurated the fifth edition of SEMICON India 2026 at Yashobhoomi in New Delhi on Thursday, telling an audience drawn from more than 600 companies and 52 countries that India's semiconductor journey has moved from policy announcements to commercial reality.

From incentives to output

"India should aspire to be among the early leaders in emerging technologies," Modi told delegates, adding that chips designed and made in India are now beginning to reach customers both at home and abroad. The three-day event, running through September 19 under the theme "Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem," is themed around expanding India's ambitions beyond individual fabrication projects toward building capability across the entire semiconductor value chain, from raw materials and equipment to design and packaging. Organisers expect roughly 50,000 attendees, more than 400 executives and over 150 speakers across the three days.

The event follows years of government efforts under the India Semiconductor Mission to attract fabrication and assembly investment through production-linked incentives, and Thursday's inauguration was framed by officials as evidence that the initial wave of approved projects is now translating into actual manufacturing activity rather than remaining on paper.

Fujifilm's new bet on India

Timed to coincide with the event, Japanese materials company Fujifilm announced it will invest around Rs 800 crore to set up a greenfield semiconductor materials manufacturing facility in India, working in coordination with the India Semiconductor Mission's second phase of incentives, which was approved in July. The investment is planned in two stages starting October 2026, with an initial focus on materials used in front-end chip fabrication processes, followed by a second phase covering surface-conditioning materials and high-purity chemicals once domestic demand justifies the expansion. Commercial production is expected to begin in the 2028 financial year.

The announcement adds Fujifilm to a growing list of global materials and equipment suppliers, including Applied Materials, ASML, Merck and Tokyo Electron, that have signalled deeper engagement with India's chip ecosystem in recent months.

Markets respond

Investors moved quickly on the back of the inauguration and the steady drumbeat of investment announcements around it. Shares of Syrma SGS Technology surged as much as 10 percent, while Dixon Technologies, Kaynes Technology, MosChip Technologies and CG Power and Industrial Solutions all posted sharp early gains, as traders bet on stronger order pipelines for India's outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing, or OSAT, players. Tata Group companies with semiconductor exposure, including Tata Technologies and Tata Elxsi, were also in focus through the session.

The bigger picture

SEMICON India has grown considerably since its first edition, and this year's scale, with exhibitors spanning the full value chain from equipment makers to chip designers, is being read by industry watchers as a signal that India's pitch to global semiconductor players is starting to move past the incentive-announcement stage. Whether the fresh investment commitments unveiled this week translate into a meaningfully larger share of global chip manufacturing for India will depend on execution over the next several years, including progress on skilled workforce development and reliable power and water infrastructure for fabrication plants, both of which remain works in progress even as political attention on the sector intensifies.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.