IANS | 25 Apr, 2024
As India embarks on its ambitious semiconductor journey, providing
strategic support for chip design firms, bridging the skill gap,
enhancing funding mechanisms, leveraging global opportunities and
investing in refurbished fabrication units will catapult the country to
the forefront of the global semiconductor industry, a report showed on
Thursday.
In March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the
foundation stone for three semiconductor projects worth Rs 1.25 lakh
crore. The first 'Make in India' chip is all set to arrive in December,
from the Rs 22,500 crore Micron semiconductor plant in Gujarat.
According
to Union Railways and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the country will
not only meet its demand for semiconductors by 2029 but also start
exporting them, while fabricating "300 crore semiconductor chips in a
year".
In light of recent developments in the domestic chip
manufacturing sector, the India Cellular and Electronics Association
(ICEA) released a report here that details the strategic roadmap and
actionable recommendations for the country, specifically building
semiconductor design and core IP creation.
"As we navigate through
a transformative era in electronics manufacturing and hi-tech
technology, India stands at a pivotal juncture to redefine its role in
the semiconductor value chain," said Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman of ICEA,
which is the electronics industry’s apex body.
The report
emphasised the critical need to develop a holistic design ecosystem that
encompasses the entire electronics value chain.
This includes
encouraging major Indian corporates and original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs) to delve into semiconductor design and core IP creation, thereby
ensuring a vibrant domestic semiconductor design landscape.
It
also advocated for significant governmental and policy support,
recommending the inclusion of mask sets in the design-linked incentive
(DLI) scheme.
“Subsidising the cost of mask sets by up to 80 per
cent for Indian design firms is proposed as a measure to facilitate the
emergence of a strong Indian Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
framework,” the findings showed.
It also underscored the importance of innovative funding approaches to support the semiconductor design ecosystem.
"With
the global shift in semiconductor manufacturing dynamics, particularly
due to US sanctions on China, ICEA sees a strategic opportunity for
India to advance into sub-14 nm technology nodes," the report mentioned.
India
could leverage spare capacities, like Taiwanese giant TSMC's for 7nm
technologies, to accelerate its entry into advanced semiconductor
manufacturing.
"This report is a clarion call for unified action
across government, industry, and academia to propel India into a
leadership position in the global semiconductor arena," Mohindroo noted.