Semiconductor chips are seen on a circuit board of a computer.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Bengaluru: The semiconductor sector is projected to almost double to $103.5 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 13.8 per cent outpacing global growth benchmarks.
The industry is expected to be valued at $54.3 billion by the end of 2025. The sector is also transitioning from being a consumption-heavy market to becoming a global capability hub across design, R&D, and manufacturing enablement, according to a new report by Quess Corp.
India’s semiconductor story is still anchored in the devices we use every day, smartphones, laptops, and industrial systems, which together make up about 70% of the market. What is changing is the rise of new demand engines: electric vehicles, 5G rollouts, and the rapid buildout of data centers. With hyperscale capacity expected to grow by more than 75% by 2030 and EVs targeted to make up nearly a third of all new vehicles, the market for advanced chips is set for an unprecedented expansion, the report said.
Mobile handsets, IT/PCs, and industrial applications will continue to contribute about 70% of revenues, while automotive (EVs), 5G infrastructure, and data centres are emerging as the next multi-billion dollar growth vectors.
The India Semiconductor Mission is laying the foundation for domestic capability, backed by ₹1.6 lakh crore worth of projects and close to 29,000 new jobs.
Currently, India houses over 250,000 semiconductor professionals, with 43,000 new postings in 2024-25 reflecting accelerating demand. This pool is projected to grow by over 120% to nearly 400,000 by 2030, making India the world’s second-largest semiconductor talent hub after the US. The workforce spans across design, embedded systems, EDA tool development, and ATMP manufacturing, showing that India is building capability across the entire value chain.
About 80% of the workforce has less than 10 years of experience, signaling depth at junior levels but a leadership supply gap at mid-to-senior roles. More than 55 semiconductor GCCs operate across the country, employing over 60,000 engineers. These GCCs are evolving from design support to AI-led system design, verification, and EDA tool development.
GCCs in India are transitioning from deterministic support centres to IP-owning, AI-augmented co-innovation hubs, with AI now embedded through the toolchain— approximately 50% of new SoC programs include AI accelerators; about 30% of verification teams pilot ML-driven coverage closure. This AI-first operating model is rapidly becoming table stakes for competitiveness.
New growth will come from data and EVs
The next five years will see the fastest growth in data centres and AI computing, supported by India’s hyperscale buildout and GPU/TPU rollouts. Automotive and EV demand for SiC/GaN devices, battery management systems, and microcontroller stacks is also set to soar. Consumer electronics and telecom will continue to anchor revenues, while India’s emerging role in high-bandwidth memory and interconnect design is opening new areas of opportunity for local engineers.
Bengaluru and Hyderabad currently account for over 80% of India’s semiconductor GCC workforce, but over-reliance on these hubs is pushing firms to diversify. Tier-2 cities like Ahmedabad, Mohali, and Thiruvananthapuram are not only attracting new design mandates but are also aligning with EV and industrial clusters, supported by ESDM parks and policy incentives. Early movers are expected to benefit from cost arbitrage, policy backing, and a more stable talent pipeline.
Commenting on the findings, Kapil Joshi, CEO – IT Staffing, Quess Corp, stated: “India’s semiconductor industry is entering a defining decade. As the Government of India fast-tracks approvals for ISM 2.0 which is likely to exceed $10 billion, our report highlights both the scale of opportunity and the challenges in the talent readiness aspect."
Top roles are getting pricier
Specialist roles such as SoC Architects, Senior SoC Design Engineers, and Analog IC Designers now command between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 85 lakh annually. These are projected to rise another 5–6% in the near term, while verification and physical design jobs will see steady 3–4% increases. The report also notes that equity and RSUs are becoming central to retention, bringing India’s compensation practices closer to global norms in the semiconductor sector.