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India’s Tech Dreams Go Global: PM Says Youth Want To Lead In AI And Chips

Ashik Bothra - Mumbai Bureau Published May 16, 2026, 10:35 PM Updated Sep 17, 2026, 10:04 PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that “India is dreaming big” and that the country’s youth now aspire to drive India’s rise in artificial intelligence and semiconductors, not just consume imported technology. Speaking to the Indian community in The Hague, he linked this ambition to India’s startup boom, digital public infrastructure and growing role in global tech conversations.

India’s Next Frontier: AI And Semiconductors

In his address, PM Modi described today’s India as being in a phase of “unprecedented transformation,” shifting from basic digitisation to leadership in advanced tech. He pointed out that India now hosts the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem and has nearly 125 active unicorns, many of them working in AI, defence, space and other deep-tech areas.

He stressed that India should not remain just a “technology market” but become a “technology creator,” with young engineers and founders building AI solutions that can be deployed at population scale first at home, then in other developing countries.

Why Chips Matter In India’s Big Dream

Modi also singled out semiconductors as a strategic priority, calling chips the backbone of modern electronics and essential for everything from smartphones and cars to defence and space applications. He noted earlier initiatives from partnerships like the India–South Korea tech bridge to training programmes for tens of thousands of chip-design professionals as building blocks of a future where India designs and manufactures more of its own chips.

Addressing the diaspora, he said India wants to “host the Olympics, become a global manufacturing hub, emerge as a leader in green energy, and become the growth engine of the world” with AI and semiconductors sitting at the core of that vision.

Tech Dream Highlights

PM Modi says India is “dreaming big” and youth want to lead in AI and semiconductors.
India now has the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem and about 125 active unicorns.
Startups are doing “remarkable work” in AI, defence, space and deep tech.
Government is pushing semiconductor partnerships, training and domestic chip design.
Vision is for India to shift from tech consumer to global tech creator and growth engine.