At SEMICON India 2024, held in Greater Noida during September 12-13, representatives from various states in India made their cases to attract semiconductor design and manufacturing opportunities. Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers from each state presented a list of their achievements, incentive policies and infrastructural facilities.
Telangana:
IAS officer Jayesh Ranjan, Special Chief Secretary of the IT Department, represented Telangana for the event. Andhra Pradesh was the first state to establish a semiconductor fabricator all the way back in 1998, he noted. The state has a developed electronics industry catering to the defence sector, with close to a million people working in the software industry. Major semiconductor manufacturers like Micron and Qualcomm also have R&D facilities set up in Hyderabad. MeitY itself has also sanctioned the very first fabless incubator in the country in IIT Hyderabad.
The representative also lauded the talent available in the state. The curriculum of electrical engineering is reworked every six months so that the latest information and skills can be taught. The government also ran a program called Telangana Academy of Skills and Knowledge (TASK), that trains students for specific skills demanded by manufacturers. “It is completely done at our cost, the company need not pay even a rupee for it,” said Ranjan. “Everything that one would require to set up a thriving semiconductor or OSATs or ATMT manufacturing units exists in Hyderabad. We have a legacy, infrastructure and talent.”
Odisha:
“We work very differently in Odisha,” said Vishal Dev, IAS. “We work in an informal manner. We take risks also.” Odisha is a metal and minerals powerhouse, he said, accounting for more than 50% of India’s steel and 60% of its aluminium. Dev wanted to leverage this industrial base to shift into value added industries and new age sectors like semiconductors. “We already have the presence of some of the leading semiconductor and chip design companies,” he added.
The state accounts for 11% of India’s water resources and is a power surplus state with some of the nation’s cheapest tariffs. It is also willing to work out customised incentive packages for “mega investments” (above Rs. 500 crore).
“We would like to be a hub of R&D, Design, Innovation and Skilling,” said Dev. The state will be launching a program called “O-Chip” which will create a “end-to-end semiconductor design ecosystem.”
“It’s going to provide 360 degree support, from infrastructure to financing to marketing to skilling. It will cover the entire gamut of activities for the semiconductor ecosystem,” he said. “We have a target of coming out with two chip tape-outs every year.”
Uttar Pradesh:
Speaking at the event, IAS Officer Anil Kumar Sagar emphasised logistical advantage that the state of Uttar Pradesh offered. “Our budget size, which was about Rs 200,000 crore in 2014, has now increased to Rs. 700,000 crore, which is a rise of about 3.5 times in 10 years,” he said. This increase in the budget helped build a robust infrastructure in the state. “In fact, more than 50% of India’s expressways lie in the state,” he revealed.
The government of India ranked Uttar Pradesh as an ‘achiever state’ in its ease of doing business ranking and ranked it no.2 in the LEEDS ranking (Logistics Ease Across Different States). It also features the largest road and railway network across the country.
In February 2023, the state conducted a Global Investor Summit and was able to garner investment proposals of about Rs. 40,00,000 crore, almost 25% of which have begun construction. Uttar Pradesh, specifically Noida, is close to New Delhi, which Sagar considers a major advantage.
Karnataka:
“Bangalore and Karnataka hold the second largest position in design engineers,” said Sanjeev Gupta, CEO of the Karnataka Digital Mission. “You pickup any global design company, they have their offices and designers in Bangalore.”
Gupta stated that Karnataka held the first position in attracting investments since 2016 and the third largest in attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), with Bangalore being one of the top 100 technology clusters in the world. “You pick up the fortune 500 companies of the world, 400 of them have their research and development centres in Bangalore or Karnataka,” Gupta said. “The largest chunk of fabless startups come from Bangalore.” He stated that the state ranks first in the semiconductor design ecosystem, R&D centres, India Innovation Index, machine tools manufacturing and installed renewable energy.
There are four EMCs (Electronics Manufacturing Cluster) approved in the state, with a total of 1000 acres dedicated for the clusters. “All of them have connectivity, logistics, supply chain, ecosystem and talent,” said Gupta.
Karnataka was the first state to draft an IT Policy and a Startup Policy and is now currently drafting a second version of the two. “All of these policies are drafted after a consultation with industries,” assured Gupta. “Industries sit on the vision group with us, give us advice and suggestions.” He added that the government was willing to go beyond the policies for “special cases.”
Assam:
“Why Assam? We have lots of possibilities. We are growing at around 15.6%, we are at the centre of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and BBN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal) markets,” said Manvendra Pratap Singh, Managaing Director of the Assam Industrial Development Corporation.
Assam has seven operational airports, a long network of roads and railways and multimodal logistics park, which is first of its kind. “We also have the longest network of rivers and national waterways, which are under development,” said Singh.
The state has premiere institutes like IIT, IIIT and the Northeast Institute of Science and Technology. A new IIM has also been proposed in Assam. A new skill university, supported by Singapore, is being set up to fulfill the requirements of citizens.
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The Industrial and Investment Policy of Assam 2024 offers a number of incentives like SGST reimbursement, power subsidy, stamp duty exemption, financial assistance of 50% up to Rs. 25 lakh and support for human capital development. Any industry that invests Rs 100 crore can avail customised incentives.
The Tata Group is founding the largest Indian Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) in Assam, due to the subsidies offered by the government. The government also invested Rs. 800 crore to buy an old paper factory and developed it into a semiconductor park. The Tatas have been given around 175 acres of the facility.
Gujarat:
Manish Gurwani, Mission Director of the Gujarat State Electronics Mission, introduced the infrastructural features of his state. The state contributes 8.2% of India’s GDP, has a coastline of 1600 km, with 48 seaports and 19 airports. 40% of the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor also passes through Gujarat. The state also features an extensive piped natural gas green, a statewide water network and a power capacity of 53 giga watts.
He also emphasised the state’s semiconductor policy. Gujarat offers additional support of up to 40% of the central government’s support, a power tariff subsidy of two rupees for a period of 10 years, water availability at Rs. 12 per cubic metre for five years, a land subsidy of 75% for the first 200 acres at Dholera.
The electronics policy offers 20% support for capital expenditure, stamp duty exemption, interest assistance and incentives on logistics as well.
Gujarat’s representative also lauded the speed at which his organisation worked and how it had never delayed in making subsidy payments.
Tamil Nadu:
Dr. Alarmelmangai, Executive Director of Guidance, a state investment promotion agency, represented Tamil Nadu at the conference. She stated that Tamil Nadu was the second largest economy in the country with a GDP of $300 billion. 48% of Tamil Nadu is urbanised, making it the most urban state in the country. They also have a higher gross enrollment ratio than the national average at 48%.
She called the state a leader in electronics exports. “Our electronics exports grew to about $10 billion in 2024, which is twice the closest state,” she said. The state contributes 46% to the country’s auto and auto component exports, while also being a leader in the textile and apparel industry. Tamil Nadu has the second biggest service sector and the third biggest startup sector.
According to the Tamil Nadu Semiconductor and Advanced Electronics Policy, the state provides a capital subsidy of up to 50% of the Indian government’s subsidy. For advanced electronics, the state provides a mixture of capital and turnover based subsidy. However, for high-end chip design and fabless entities, there is no cap on the capital but a payroll subsidy is provided. Other subsidies like stamp duty concession, interest subvention, electricity duty exemption are also provided.
“The strengths of Tamil Nadu lie in its large industrial ecosystem that is present since 1992,” said Dr. Alarmelmangai “and the strong, skilled workforce that is available.” She also highlighted the policy stability present in the state.
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