Synopsis
India's semiconductor mission is shifting focus to advanced memory packaging. High Bandwidth Memory, crucial for AI data centers, will be prioritized. This move aims to integrate India into the global manufacturing value chain for this critical technology. Officials confirm that applications for HBM production will receive precedence under the new mission phase.ISM 1.0 was launched in 2021 as a push towards semiconductor manufacturing, packaging and design units. While the government has kept the public focus of the ₹1-lakh crore second phase of the initiative on establishing the full semiconductor ecosystem, including design, equipment, materials and research and development, officials said potential investment applications for high bandwidth memory production will be given precedence.
Critical for running artificial intelligence (AI) data centres, HBM prices have soared due to a multi-year global demand supercycle, as more AI data centres get built.
"Added to this, there are also concerns over increasing technology controls by major economies, and sudden economic shocks that may impact industry timelines," said an official. "At this juncture, it is evident this (HBM) technology is crucial for the AI ecosystem. It is our intention that India enter the manufacturing value chain." HBM is a specialised high-performance architecture that provides massive, high-speed data processing capabilities that traditional memory cannot provide. But manufacturing remains concentrated among few. As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, South Korea's SK Hynix and Samsung controlled 57% and 22% of the global revenue share, respectively, while US-based Micron held the remaining 21% share, according to Counterpoint Research.
Micron's $2.5-billion plant in Gujarat's Sanand, inaugurated last month, converts imported advanced dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and NAND wafers into finished memory chips and SSDs. The company expects to assemble and test tens of millions of chips at Sanand in 2026, scaling to hundreds of millions in 2027.
Last week, electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the plant will fulfil about 10% of Micron's global memory production.
"While the facility will be one of the world's largest single-floor assembly and test cleanrooms, it is not planned to host HBM manufacturing yet," a second official said. Experts have pointed out that most of the value is shifting to the production stage.
