As the world continues to deal with semiconductor shortages, every country is tuning itself to address this shortfall. Taking a step towards this, India also planned to have its own semiconductor manufacturing units to address its own and global needs for the silicon chip.
India aims to lay the foundation of the country’s first semiconductor manufacturing unit by June-July next year. The nation will also float a request for proposal (RFP) seeking commercial bids from companies, reported Financial Express. The extent of incentives will be decided after receiving feedback from the companies operating in this space, said the sources.
“The semiconductor dream of India will be fulfilled soon. It’s the Prime Minister’s dream to have semiconductors designed and made in India. We are working on developing the complete semiconductor ecosystem – for designing, manufacturing and packaging semiconductor chips,” communications and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told Financial Express without divulging any further details.
Nearly 15-20 firms showed interest in setting up semiconductor fabs in India when the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) came out with an expression of interest (EoI) in December 2020.
As the worldwide semiconductor shortage is hurting global economies, it is essential for countries to have their own semiconductor manufacturing units to address their requirements. “Semiconductors have been a key enabler in the advancement of electronics for the past 50 years and will continue to play an even greater role with the introduction of new technologies and applications, including internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence, 5G, smart cars, smart factories, date centres, robotics etc,” Meity had said in the EoI for semiconductors floated in December.
Being a complex and research-intensive sector, semiconductor manufacturing also requires huge cash to sustain. Though earlier the government failed to make India a semiconductor manufacturing hub, it currently ensures that any incentive scheme should be able to address the requirements of the industry.
