By:- Ashok Chandak, President: IESA and SEMI India

"The 10th India Mobile Congress, inaugurated by Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, shows how far India has come as a digital nation, and 'Scale Without Boundaries' is the right ambition for this moment. His emphasis on building capabilities across the entire value chain, strengthening semiconductor manufacturing, and moving towards indigenous product design and intellectual property sets a clear direction for India's technology ecosystem. As the Prime Minister underlined today, India has the opportunity not just to make for India, but to design and manufacture for the world.

IMC 2026 and the semiconductor ecosystem are natural complements to each other. If SEMICON India is where we examine the semiconductor value chain, from design, manufacturing and advanced packaging to equipment, materials and systems, IMC is where we see the demand side of that ecosystem come alive. That happens through 5G and 6G, AI, edge computing, connected devices, IoT, satellite communications and digital infrastructure.

This year's theme is particularly relevant to semiconductors. India cannot build a globally competitive digital economy without secure and scalable access to the chips and compute that power it. At the same time, the semiconductor industry needs large domestic and global markets in which Indian-designed and Indian-manufactured chips can be deployed. IMC therefore creates an important bridge between silicon and the applications, networks and systems that ultimately create economic value.

The semiconductor agenda can contribute significantly to IMC's vision by bringing trusted silicon, indigenous design capabilities, advanced packaging, energy-efficient AI chips and secure supply chains into the conversation on India's digital future. Conversely, IMC can help the semiconductor ecosystem understand real-world demand and create pathways from chip to product, network and deployment. Together, the two ecosystems can help India move from being a large technology consumer to becoming a trusted global technology creator and supplier. As India moves from being a services nation to a product nation, IESA will continue to work with the Government and industry to build deep design capabilities, a resilient supply chain and a skilled talent pipeline. We thank the Prime Minister, Minister Scindia and the DoT for their steady policy support, and we look forward to the innovations and partnerships that IMC 2026 will unlock."

"As IMC 2026 gets underway today, one thing is clear: SEMICON India builds the capabilities behind the chip, and IMC brings together the applications, networks and markets that create demand for those chips. That makes the two platforms highly complementary. From 6G and AI infrastructure to edge computing, IoT, connected devices and satellite communications, almost every technology on show at IMC this week ultimately depends on semiconductor innovation.

The opportunity for India is to connect these two worlds, moving from silicon to systems and from technology capability to global-scale deployment. This is how 'Scale Without Boundaries' can become a reality for India's semiconductor and digital technology ecosystem."

"SEMICON builds the silicon; IMC demonstrates where that silicon creates value." SEMICON India and IMC should be seen as two complementary ends of the same technology value chain. One builds the semiconductor capabilities; the other accelerates their adoption, deployment and market creation.