Vikram Meghal, SVP Engineering at Infosys, states that India has a “once in a generation” chance to progress past semiconductor engineering and seize a bigger portion of the worldwide value generated through chip and system innovation.

Speaking at SEMICON India 2026 on Friday, Meghal stated that the semiconductor sector is transitioning from concentrating on adding more transistors to chips to scaling at the system level, fueled by the swift expansion of AI and specialized chips for various applications.

“Currently, the focus is shifting towards system-level scaling, which is essential at this moment, rather than solely considering how many transistors can fit into a specific space,” he stated.

AI is becoming a significant factor in the demand for semiconductors, with spending on AI data centres forecasted to increase by $6.7 trillion in the near future, with 50% anticipated to be allocated to compute, memory, and networking chips, Meghal noted.

He mentioned that the shifting demand landscape, geopolitical tensions affecting semiconductor supply chains, and the rising adoption of AI in chip development were presenting an opportunity for India to ascend the value chain.

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"This enables us to significantly reduce the chip-to-fab timeline and also allows us to rethink the manufacturing process and redesign the whole life cycle," he stated.

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Meghal recognized three prospects for India — “designed for India,” “crafted in India,” and “innovate in India.” Although India has established considerable engineering strengths, he mentioned that the subsequent phase should prioritize creating products and intellectual property aimed at global markets.

“In India, ER&D is expected to increase by 1.8 times in the upcoming years.” The sector recognizes that manufactured in India is the optimal approach to achieve it. Everyone is currently talking about how to 'create in India'. Up to this point, we have solely been recording the value created in India. Currently, there is an opportunity for global products to harness innovation value and begin focusing on invention in India. That's where we'll honor the years of commitment to creating this ecosystem. The straightforward concept is: how to position India as the global center for innovation and engineering,” he stated.