UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — NITI Aayog releases “Future of India’s Semiconductor Industry” Roadmap

Q1. As of the latest available position (March 2026), how many semiconductor units have been approved under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), of which two are fabrication (fab) units?

  • A. 6
  • B. 8
  • C. 10
  • D. 12

Q2. In the Union Budget 2026-27, which one of the following semiconductor-related provisions carried the largest financial outlay for the year 2026-27?

  • A. India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0 — Rs 1,000 crore
  • B. Modified Programme for Development of Semiconductor and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem — Rs 8,000 crore
  • C. Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme — Rs 15 crore per application
  • D. Production Linked Incentive (PLI) for IT Hardware — Rs 1,000 crore

Q3. Which one of the following best describes the primary thrust of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0 announced in the Union Budget 2026-27?

  • A. Providing 50% capital expenditure support solely for setting up wafer fabrication plants
  • B. Producing semiconductor equipment and materials in India, designing full-stack Indian semiconductor intellectual property, and fortifying domestic and global supply chains
  • C. Establishing display fabrication units for TFT-LCD and AMOLED panels
  • D. Incentivising only chip-design startups through deployment-linked incentives

Q4. According to NITI Aayog's "Future of India's Semiconductor Industry" roadmap, what is the headline target size of India's semiconductor value chain to be achieved by 2035?

  • A. USD 50-60 billion
  • B. USD 80-100 billion
  • C. USD 120-150 billion
  • D. USD 250-300 billion

Q5. In the roadmap, the described shift from "ecosystem creation" to "ecosystem deepening" primarily refers to which one of the following?

  • A. Moving from attracting investments and building foundational fab and ATMP capacity to developing deeper capabilities across design, materials, manufacturing, packaging, talent, R&D and trusted global partnerships
  • B. Shifting government support from private companies to public-sector undertakings for chip manufacturing
  • C. Transitioning from domestic consumption of chips to becoming a net exporter of raw silicon wafers
  • D. Replacing the India Semiconductor Mission with a new statutory regulatory authority

Q6. Which of the following are correctly identified as component schemes rolled out under the Semicon India Programme?

  1. Scheme for Setting up of Semiconductor Fabs in India
  2. Scheme for Setting up of Display Fabs in India
  3. Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme
  4. Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q7. The Semicon India Programme was approved by the Union Cabinet in which year, and with what total financial outlay?

  • A. 2020, with an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore
  • B. 2021, with an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore
  • C. 2021, with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore
  • D. 2022, with an outlay of Rs 1,00,000 crore

Q8. Which of the following country-and-role pairings are correctly identified in the context of the global semiconductor value chain?

  1. Netherlands — dominant supplier of advanced lithography equipment
  2. Taiwan — largest share of contract chip fabrication (foundry) services
  3. Japan — global leader in advanced EUV lithography machines
  4. United States — dominance in semiconductor chip design
  • A. 1, 2 and 4
  • B. 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q9. In the semiconductor value chain, the term 'ATMP' refers to which one of the following?

  • A. Advanced Transistor Manufacturing Process, i.e. front-end wafer fabrication
  • B. Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging, i.e. back-end downstream processing of chips
  • C. Automated Thin-film Metal Photolithography used in wafer patterning
  • D. Application-Targeted Microchip Prototyping at the design stage