The first 'made in India' chips will be assembled and tested in 12-14 months, says union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar
The first chips are likely to go into products such as servers and data centres and mobile phones down the road, said the Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, the sidelines of SemiconIndia 2023.
It is important for the world to see India emerge as a trusted, resilient partner in the electronics and semiconductor space, said Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT.
On the sidelines of SemiconIndia 2023 in Gandhinagar, he told PTI that the world wants to partner with India for the country to grow its footprints in the semiconductor ecosystem.
He said, "We are deeply hopeful and very confident that, over the next 12 to 14 months, we will see the first chips assembled and tested in India, being available to the Indian market and Indian consumers and, indeed, made in India for the world."
The first 'made in India' chips are likely to go into products such as servers and data centres and mobile phones down the road.
The minister said the government will shortly launch the India Semiconductor Research Centre, which will be a global standard facility for research in material sciences, physics, and the chemistry of semiconductors, electronics, and design at the basic component level.
Chandrasekhar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for the sector is to create more opportunities for young Indians studying in colleges.
The recent chip shortage was a combination of supply chain disruption due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the increased demand in automotive, internet of things, computer, and mobile phones, the union minister said.
"So, on one hand, demand was going up, and, on the other hand, we saw concentration of chip production in a few countries. It is important now for the world and for India that we emerge as a trusted and resilient partner in electronics as well as semiconductors."
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He also that the Indian market, its geopolitics, geography, and talent make the country "the ideal trusted partner" for global consumers of semiconductors and electronics.
The signing of agreements between India and the United States, Japan and European Union, for semiconductors, shows that "the world wants to partner with India, and for India to grow its footprints in the semiconductor ecosystem," he said.
He asserted that young Indians will lead the charge in the semiconductor ecosystem.
"This is being built really for the future of India and his (Prime Minister's) vision is that in the future India will be a leading player in the semiconductor supply chains of the world, from design to research to talent to ATMP (assembly, testing, marking), to fabrication and manufacturing," he said.
The union minister called it the "decadal vision" of PM Modi, stating that the government has already approved seven startups under the design linked incentive (DLI) scheme.
"We are looking at talent, design, research, and manufacturing through fabs and ATMP," he said, adding that US semiconductor chip company Micron Technology announcing a big investment to set up India's first ATMP facility for memory was an important milestone.
The Gujarat government recently signed a memorandum of understanding worth Rs 22,500 crore with Micron Technology to establish an ATMP facility in the state.
Edited by Swetha Kannan