New Delhi: The government expects to accommodate 2-3 more chip projects under India Semiconductor Mission before moving on to the next phase of the ecosystem development, a top IT ministry official said on Monday. The government has committed around Rs 62,900 crore, or 97 per cent, of the Rs 65,000 crore fund earmarked as incentives for semiconductor production in the country, with approval of 10 chip production projects.
“We have got to the number of 10. Maybe two or three more may come. Then we should be fully absorbing whatever we have done under the India Semiconductor Mission–the phase one of the mission. Which brings us to what happens next, and how do we do this?” Electronics and IT Secretary S Krishnan said. He was speaking at the launch of ICEA – Semiconductor Product Design Leadership Forum.
Under the Rs 76,000 crore India Semiconductor Mission, the government had earmarked Rs 65,000 crore in incentives for chip production, Rs 10,000 crore for the modernisation of the Semiconductor Laboratory in Mohali and Rs 1,000 crore for the design-linked incentive scheme.
Krishnan said that the government and industry needs to work together to make India truly a semiconductor design location for the world where the design is made not only for companies from the rest of the world, but also for Indian firms.
He appealed to the industry to leverage events like Semicon India to take the India product design and intellectual property overseas. The secretary said that Semicon India expects to see double participation compared to previous editions.
He said that Semicon India is growing at a very rapid rate which shows the interest India is generating among players in the industry. “Companies are coming into India primarily for two reasons – for talent, and market. This is something we need to leverage to make sure that we truly have semiconductor product designs which are made in India, designed in India, and have Indian IP that will spread all over the world,” Krishnan said.
Former IT secretary RS Sharma said that countries such as the US, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, which lead in semiconductor technologies, have built deep R&D ecosystems by linking universities, startups, and industry. “India must do the same. India is one of the fastest-growing electronics manufacturing destinations. I think we are hugely now exporting a number of electronic products, the mobile phones being at the top, giving us a scale. But the scale must translate into innovation,” Sharma said.
He said that the semiconductors are no longer just about economics but they are about national security and global influence. “Nations that lead in semiconductors will lead in technology, in security, and in shaping the global economy. Trust has become as important as cost in global supply chains. The world is searching for reliable partners. With our democratic values, skilled talent pool, and entrepreneurial energy, India is well-positioned to be the trusted partner,” he said.
Talking about the initiative, ICEA Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said the industry body, prominently known for representing mobile device firms, always tries to fill in the gaps as per the nation’s requirements. “It is very important to represent the interests of our members and to strengthen them because that’s how the nation gets built. The semiconductor design is across the board; it represents every segment and the objective is that we have a threshold number of at least 50 billion of semiconductor design services by the next decade,” Mohindroo said. He said the target will lead to high-quality employment for half a million to one million people in the country.