Author: Ms Devika Raj Batra
How India’s semiconductor, electronics and digital revolution can transform water, sanitation, healthcare and everyday life in India’s villages
A village water tank is full in the morning but almost empty by evening. Nobody knows exactly where the water went.
A farmer switches on his pump because he believes his field needs water, although the soil may already contain enough moisture. A health worker travels several kilometres because a basic diagnostic facility is not available nearby. During heavy rain, families wait for someone to tell them whether the nearby drain or river is likely to overflow.
These may sound like problems of infrastructure, administration or resources. But increasingly, they are also problems that science and technology can help solve.
And surprisingly, one of the smallest pieces of technology may play a part in solving them: a semiconductor chip.
The question, therefore, is not simply whether India can manufacture semiconductors. It is a much more meaningful question for ordinary citizens:
Can a chip change a village?
The answer is yes, but not by itself.
A chip can power a sensor. A sensor can collect information. Information can help a person make a better decision. A better decision can save water, improve a crop, provide an early health warning or make a public service more reliable. When thousands of such small improvements come together, they can change the way an entire community lives.
This is where India’s semiconductor journey meets the country’s larger ambition of building a developed and self-reliant India by 2047.
The technology we rarely see
Most people never see a semiconductor.
We see a mobile phone, a television, an electric vehicle, a medical machine, a satellite or a digital payment terminal. Inside these products, however, are tiny electronic components that allow machines to sense, calculate, communicate and respond.
That is what makes semiconductors so important. They are not a product in themselves. They are the building blocks behind many of the products and services that have become part of modern life.
India’s electronics production has grown dramatically. According to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the value of electronics production increased from about ₹1.9 lakh crore in 2014-15 to around ₹12 lakh crore in 2024-25, roughly six times in a decade.
The next step is to make India a stronger part of the semiconductor value chain.
The Government’s Semicon India Programme was originally approved with an outlay of ₹76,000 crore. By April 2026, the Government said 10 semiconductor projects involving investments of about ₹1.6 lakh crore had been approved, including two fabrication plants and eight packaging units.
The momentum has continued. In May 2026, two additional semiconductor projects in Gujarat, involving around ₹3,936 crore of investment, were approved. The projects are expected to create about 2,230 skilled jobs. The Government also reported that 315 academic institutions and 104 start-ups had received design infrastructure support.
In July 2026, the Union Cabinet approved Semicon 2.0, with a total budget outlay of ₹1,27,500 crore. The new phase aims to take India beyond individual projects and develop a wider semiconductor ecosystem covering design, manufacturing and related capabilities.
This is important not only for India’s technology industry. It matters because semiconductors will increasingly sit inside the systems that manage water, energy, transport, agriculture, healthcare and communications.
That is where the story moves from the factory to the village.
What does India’s semiconductor mission have to do with a village?
At first glance, very little.
A semiconductor factory may appear far removed from a village handpump or agricultural field. But the connection becomes clear when we follow the technology one step further.
Imagine a water tank fitted with a small electronic sensor.
The sensor can measure the level of water. It can send information to a control system. The system can identify unusual changes in consumption. A sudden fall in water level may indicate a leak. A pump can be switched on or off according to actual requirements rather than guesswork.
The chip is only one small part of the system. But without the electronics inside it, the system would not be able to sense and communicate what is happening.
This is the real promise of the semiconductor revolution: making physical systems measurable and easier to manage.
Deloitte’s 2026 India technology outlook estimates that India’s semiconductor market could reach approximately US$120 billion by 2030 and US$300 billion by 2035, with about US$50 billion of additional capital investment expected over the next five years. Deloitte also estimates that around US$30–35 billion could go towards fabrication and packaging facilities, with another US$15–20 billion supporting materials, gases, chemicals and equipment.
KPMG’s India research similarly points to the importance of building the entire ecosystem rather than concentrating only on chip manufacturing. Its analysis highlights design, manufacturing, packaging, components, skills and supporting infrastructure as essential parts of India’s semiconductor ambition.
But the real test of this investment will be what happens after the chips leave the factory.
Every drop can become a piece of data
Water may be the most obvious place where this technology can make a difference.
India has made remarkable progress in expanding household tap-water connections. When the Jal Jeevan Mission began in August 2019, only 3.23 crore rural households, or about 16.71%, were reported to have tap-water connections.
By July 18, 2026, the figure had risen to approximately 15.89 crore households out of 19.36 crore, or 82.09%. That means around 12.66 crore additional rural households had been provided tap-water connections since the beginning of the mission.
These numbers represent much more than pipes and taps.
For a family, reliable water can mean fewer hours spent collecting water. For women and girls, it can mean more time for education, employment, household activities and community participation.
But providing a connection is only the beginning.
The harder question is: Will water continue to come tomorrow, next month and five years from now?
That is where the next phase of technology becomes important.
In March 2026, the Union Cabinet extended the Jal Jeevan Mission until December 2028 and increased its total outlay to ₹8.69 lakh crore, including ₹3.59 lakh crore in central assistance. The restructured programme, called JJM 2.0, places greater emphasis on reliable service, water quality, maintenance and long-term sustainability rather than simply creating infrastructure.
One particularly interesting development is Sujalam Bharat. Under this framework, every village is to receive a unique Sujal Gaon or Service Area ID, allowing the drinking-water system to be digitally mapped from the source all the way to the household tap.
Think about what that means.
A village water system that was once understood mainly through registers, inspections and complaints can increasingly be understood through information: where the water comes from, how it moves, how much is being supplied, where problems occur and what needs attention.
The Government’s stated service standard is 55 litres of potable water per person per day, meeting prescribed quality requirements.
The next generation of water systems can go even further by combining sensors, meters, remote monitoring and data analysis.
The chip does not create water.
It helps us understand water better.
And sometimes, understanding a resource better is the first step towards using it more wisely.
A new relationship between technology and farming
The same principle applies to agriculture.
For generations, farmers have made decisions based on experience, observation and local knowledge. That knowledge remains invaluable. Technology should complement it, not replace it.
A low-cost soil-moisture sensor can tell a farmer whether the soil actually needs irrigation. A weather station can provide local information about rainfall and temperature. Sensors can monitor water flow through irrigation systems. Drones and satellite images can help identify crop stress.
The Government is already moving towards greater use of technology in water management for agriculture. In 2025, the Union Cabinet approved the Modernization of Command Area Development and Water Management sub-scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, with an initial outlay of ₹1,600 crore. The programme includes the use of digital monitoring and Internet-connected systems for water accounting and management, with the aim of improving water-use efficiency and agricultural productivity.
The principle is simple.
Instead of asking only, “How much water can we supply?”, technology can help us ask, “How much water does the crop actually need?”
That small change in thinking can have a large impact in a water-stressed country.
Sanitation is also a technology problem
Water and sanitation are inseparable.
India’s sanitation journey has already demonstrated how infrastructure, behaviour and public participation can work together.
Under Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen Phase II, the focus has moved beyond simply constructing toilets. The objective is to sustain open-defecation-free status while improving solid and liquid waste management and keeping villages visibly clean.
By March 20, 2025, Government data reported 11.83 crore individual household toilets and 2.53 lakh community sanitary complexes constructed under the rural sanitation programme. At that point, 5,64,157 villages had declared themselves ODF Plus, while 5,03,973 villages had arrangements for solid waste management and 5,22,599 villages had arrangements for grey-water management.
By December 2025, the number of villages declared ODF Plus had risen to 5,67,873, including 4,88,023 Model villages.
These figures show how far the country has travelled.
But technology can help make the next phase more effective.
A sensor can tell when a waste container is full. A digital system can help plan collection routes. A simple monitoring device can identify waterlogging or overflowing drains. A local dashboard can show which sanitation complaints remain unresolved.
Again, none of these systems is revolutionary by itself.
Their value comes from making a public service visible.
When a problem is visible, it can be measured. When it is measured, someone can be held responsible for solving it.
That is where technology becomes a tool for better governance.
The village of the future should not be a copy of a city
There is a temptation to define a “smart village” as a village filled with screens, cameras and sensors.
That would miss the point.
A smart village is not one with the most technology. It is one where technology solves the right problems.
If a village has a sophisticated digital display but unreliable drinking water, it is not smart.
If a village has an app for reporting sanitation problems but nobody responds to the complaints, the app has achieved very little.
If a school receives expensive computers but students are never taught how technology works, the investment has not reached its full potential.
Technology must be designed around people.
That principle fits closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s broader vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat@2047—a developed India that combines economic strength with better public services and wider opportunity.
The Government’s recent rural initiatives increasingly reflect this idea. The Viksit Bharat–G RAM G Yojana, launched nationally in July 2026, has been presented as a model that combines rural employment, livelihoods, local planning and stronger village-level development.
Similarly, the Vibrant Villages Programme-II, approved with an outlay of ₹6,839 crore for 2024-25 to 2028-29, focuses on comprehensive development of selected villages along India’s international borders.
The larger message is clear: villages cannot be treated as places waiting to become cities. They need development models designed around their own strengths, needs and opportunities.
Science and technology can be part of that transformation.
The people behind the technology matter just as much
There is another side of the semiconductor story that deserves more attention: people.
India cannot build a semiconductor ecosystem only by constructing factories. It needs designers, engineers, technicians, researchers, equipment specialists, quality professionals and entrepreneurs.
KPMG notes that India already has more than 20% of the world’s semiconductor design workforce, while also highlighting the need to strengthen skills and research further.
This is where India’s young population becomes an enormous advantage.
A student who learns electronics today may design a water-quality sensor tomorrow.
A student who learns coding may build a system that helps a village monitor sanitation.
A student interested in agriculture may develop a low-cost device that helps farmers reduce unnecessary irrigation.
A student interested in healthcare may create a portable diagnostic tool.
The most exciting part of India’s technology story is therefore not only the factory being built today.
It is the young person who may invent something we have not yet imagined.
From “Made in India” to “Designed for India”
India’s semiconductor mission should ultimately lead to more than manufacturing.
It should encourage Indian companies and young innovators to create products specifically for Indian conditions.
India has problems that are different from those of many developed countries.
Our villages can be large and geographically dispersed. Electricity and internet connectivity can vary. Water supply may be intermittent. Devices may have to work in high temperatures, dust and humidity. Solutions may need to be extremely affordable.
These are not disadvantages.
They are design challenges.
A sensor that can work reliably on a remote farm with limited connectivity could become valuable not only in India but in many other developing countries.
A low-cost water monitoring system designed for an Indian village could eventually become an export product.
A portable healthcare device designed for India’s last mile could serve communities across Asia and Africa.
This is where “Make in India” can evolve into “Solve in India, Build in India and Share with the World.”
Can a chip really change a village?
We can now return to the question with which we began.
Can a chip change a village?
A chip cannot build a pipeline.
It cannot teach a child.
It cannot clean a drain.
It cannot grow a crop.
It cannot treat a patient.
And it cannot replace the people responsible for running a village.
But it can help a machine sense a problem.
It can help a system communicate information.
It can help a farmer make a better decision.
It can help a health worker detect a warning sign.
It can help a water utility find a leak.
It can help a local authority understand where a service is failing.
And when those small improvements are repeated across thousands of villages, they can create something much larger: a more efficient, healthier and more confident rural India.
That is why India’s semiconductor story should not be told only through factories, investment figures and global rankings.
It should also be told through the village water tank.
Through the farmer’s field.
Through the health worker’s bag.
Through the classroom.
Through the sanitation worker’s route.
Through the young student who looks at a local problem and thinks, “There must be a better way.”
The real success of India’s semiconductor revolution will not be measured only by how many chips we manufacture.
It will be measured by what those chips help us accomplish.
India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat@2047 will require advanced science, strong manufacturing and world-class technology. But it will also require something much simpler: ensuring that progress reaches people.
Perhaps that is the real answer to the question, “Can a chip change a village?”
Yes.
Not because the chip is powerful by itself, but because it can put the power of information into the hands of people.
And sometimes, one small piece of technology can begin a very big change.
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(Author – Devika Raj Batra, Tech Innovator, Founder Project Amrit, Data Sources Internet, Views are Personal). The author has earned recognition through a nomination for the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar and has also filed two patent applications in her own name.
