New Delhi: India can become a trusted partner in a diversified semiconductor supply chain, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday, as he chaired a roundtable discussion of executives from some of the top semiconductor companies in the world at his residence.
In the 90-minute meeting, which comes on the eve of SEMICON India, the prime minister laid down the vision for the semiconductor ecosystem in India. Stating that semiconductor is the basis of the digital age, Modi emphasised that the day is not far when the semiconductor industry will be the bedrock for even basic necessities, according to a statement from his office.
He also explained to the sector representatives what the industry can expect from India Semiconductor Mission 2.0. He added that ISM 2.0 will have an allocation of about $15 billion and is currently awaiting final cabinet approval. It will focus more on developing the supply chain for semiconductors by concentrating on raw materials, gases, equipment, lead frames, substrates, and chemicals, he said.
The government had launched the initial scheme to incentivise semiconductor manufacturing in December 2021 with an outlay of ₹76,000 crore. Now dubbed ISM 1.0, it focussed on setting up ATMP (assembly, testing, marking and packaging) and fabrication units.
The roundtable was attended by Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and minister of state for electronics and IT Jitin Prasada. Chief executives and representatives from companies such as US’ Micron, Synopsys, Cadence, Jacobs, Teradyne, Applied Materials, and Lam Research; Taiwan’s PSMC; Netherlands’ NXP Semiconductors; Belgium’s IMEC; Japan’s Renesas, Tokyo Electron, Rapidus, HSR, and Advantest; and India’s CG Power, Kaynes Technology, Tate Electronics, Infineon attended this roundtable.
“We are very impressed with the new vision that beyond manufacturing, PM Modi also wants to invest in long-term R&D. From our side, we want to form a very strategic partnership to enable India also to become strong in R&D,” IMEC CEO Luc Van den hove said after the meeting.
Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO Micron, lauded Modi’s policies to incentivise semiconductor manufacturing in India. “It is the perfect time to develop semiconductor opportunities in India because as AI [artificial intelligence] grows, opportunities will increase,” he added.
Bob Pragada, CEO of Jacobs, said: “I think what the prime minister is doing right now to elevate India on a global scale is what not only India needs is what the world needs, for India to be at the forefront of the manufacture renaissance that is about to happen.”
During the day, the executives met at Bharat Mandapam for a summit where Vaishnaw reassured the executives that the government would continue to offer both fiscal and non-fiscal support for the semiconductor ecosystem even as the industry matures in the country.
At the executives’ summit, about 50 top honchos from semiconductor companies, including the CEOs of NXP, Cadence, Synopsys and IMEC, gave short presentations on how India can be a catalyst for the semiconductor ecosystem and global supply chain, and how their companies can contribute. This was followed by a closed-door lunch with Vaishnaw and IT secretary S Krishnan.
Modi will inaugurate the three-day SEMICON India 2024, which will showcase India’s semiconductor strategy and policy, in Greater Noida on Wednesday.
