As the Centre’s $10-billion production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to promote semiconductor fabrication in India gains momentum, S Krishnan, secretary, ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY), on Monday said there could be further support for the semiconductor industry.
While addressing the Semiconductor Ecosystem Conference, organised by the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) with Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) in Pune, Krishnan emphasised the importance for India, given its size, not to rely entirely on semiconductors from abroad.
“We need domestic manufacturing capacity for resilience, not just for competitive advantage,” he said. He noted that many countries, including the US, the EU and Japan, were offering incentives to establish semiconductor facilities, far surpassing India’s Budget allocation.
Q1 Results 2024 Highlights: Jio Financial Services, HDFC Life Insurance, Bank of Maharashtra, SpiceJet, among others to report Q1 numbers today
Small Indian hotels dream big with foreign locales
HUL announces sale of water purification business to A.O. Smith
Growing gig economy! Nearly 79% of employers find gig workers surpassing job requirements
The government has committed Rs 70,000 crore for various programmes, but more needs to be done as the industry would need 250-300 suppliers of gases, equipment and high-precision machinery to laundries that can provide clean room workwear and each of them made by different manufacturers. The next phase of semiconductor policy will be looking at all these aspects and giving adequate and attractive options to various segments of the semiconductor industry, Krishnan said. These would be smaller size investments and could come across the country, he suggested. “It will be a 10-15 year slog before the whole industry gets established,” the MeitY secretary said.
Speaking on the occasion, Arvind Kumar, director general of STPI, noted innovation’s spread beyond Tier 1 cities, highlighting deep-tech startup growth and emphasising collaboration with the Mahratta Chamber to boost semiconductor manufacturing, fabless design, and electronic manufacturing. STPI operates CoEs in Maharashtra: Motion in Pune for electric and autonomous mobility, and Fasal in Akola supporting agritech startups.
In addition, Pradip Chandren, additional development commissioner in the Department of Industries, Maharashtra, announced a new electronics manufacturing policy expected by August 24. He mentioned plans for additional policies before the assembly election code of conduct, including incentives like stamp duty reductions and power subsidies. Chandren also noted ongoing efforts to develop a separate policy for the state’s 45 lakh MSMEs.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between MCCIA and STPI. Ajay Shrivastava, Director of STPI Maharashtra & Goa, and Prashant Girbane, Director General of MCCIA, led this collaboration to support the development of the semiconductor ecosystem in the state.
