New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday laid the foundation stone of North India’s first semiconductor unit ‘India Chip’ in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh through video conferencing. The project is being set up as a joint venture between HCL and Foxconn. On this occasion, the Prime Minister said that today the world is looking at India as the future center of technology and India is progressing rapidly in the field of software as well as hardware.

The Prime Minister said that India is working at a fast pace towards the goal of becoming a developed nation. Referring to his address from the Red Fort, he said that India has no time to stop or wait. From the beginning of the year 2026, the country has further accelerated the pace of development. Participation of lakhs of youth in ‘Develop India Young Leaders Dialogue’ on 12 January, organization of National Startup Day on 16 January and India Energy Summit have strongly presented India’s potential on the global stage. The presence of many world heads of state and technology leaders at the recently held ‘AI Impact Summit’ underlined India’s AI potential.

He said that India is striving to be among the top countries in terms of the processing power required to operate in the modern world. India is working equally on both software and hardware aspects. It is a matter of pride for all of us that Uttar Pradesh becomes a major center of semiconductor ecosystem. This new factory of HCL and Foxconn will give the state a new identity as a technology powerhouse. He said that this is a particularly proud moment for him as an MP from Uttar Pradesh.

The Prime Minister said that where semiconductor units are established, design centres, research and development centers and startup ecosystems also develop. This will create a large number of employment opportunities. He said that this decade is India’s ‘Tech-Ed’ and in the 21st century, India is making unprecedented investments in areas like green energy, space technology, digital innovation, manufacturing and artificial intelligence.

He said that India has so far approved 10 fabrication and packaging projects under the Semiconductor Mission, out of which four are going to start production soon. The Prime Minister said that in the 20th century, the country which had oil was considered prosperous, but in the 21st century, the same power lies with a small chip and the skills and materials associated with it. Referring to the impact on the global economy due to disruptions in the chip supply chain during the Corona epidemic, he said that India resolved to become self-reliant by learning from that crisis.

The Prime Minister said that building a developed India is possible only through self-reliance and ‘Made in India’ chip will be very important in this. Semiconductor chips are the soul of modern devices including Digital India, AI, 5G, 6G, electric vehicles and defense sector. If India has its own chip then the pace of development in various fields will remain uninterrupted.

He said that investment in India by global companies like Foxconn sends the message that India is a reliable democratic partner. Increasing India’s participation in any value chain also increases its flexibility and stability. India’s identity as the world’s factory is a ‘win-win’ situation for all countries. India’s talent is also attracting the attention of the world.

Referring to the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the Prime Minister said that India has proven its resolve in the last 11 years. Electronic manufacturing has grown six times and electronic exports have reached almost eight times. Mobile manufacturing has increased by more than 28 times, while mobile exports have registered an increase of more than 100 times. More than half of the country’s mobile phones are being manufactured in Uttar Pradesh, due to which the state has emerged as a strong pillar of manufacturing.

He said that a decade ago the identity of Uttar Pradesh was linked to problems like migration, poverty and crime, but now the situation is changing. Expressways, defense corridors, tourism and modern connectivity projects have given a new direction to the image of the state. Jewar International Airport and dedicated freight corridor will take the development of the region to new heights. The Prime Minister expressed confidence that Uttar Pradesh will continue to develop and play an important role in the development of the country.