Semicon Mission 2.0 to prioritise India-designed chipsets with indigenous IP: Ashwini Vaishnaw

New Delhi [India], September 2 (ANI): Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said that the upcoming phase of India's semiconductor initiative will focus significantly on supporting full product development, including chipsets that are designed in India, with IP rights residing in the country and products developed by companies incorporated in India.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has begun work on the next phase of India's semiconductor programme, Semicon 2.0, and is currently holding discussions with the Ministry of Finance and other stakeholders to finalise its contours.

Semicon 2.0 will build on the momentum created under the first phase.

Under India Semiconductor Mission, or Semicon 1.0, the government had made an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore for the development of the semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country.

Interacting with the media on the sidelines of the Semicon India 2025, Union Minister said the government will give lot of support to the equipment manufacturers, material manufacturers, and other ecosystem partners

"A very significant part of the allocation in the next version will also be for products developing full products, as in chipsets which are designed here, the IP rights, and reside in the country, and the companies which develop are also incorporated in India. So, these two will be additional to what is being done in ISM 1.0," he said.

"We should get all the sectors covered, from automotive to power electronics to consumer electronics to medical to defense and strategy, all the sectors need to be covered. So we will continue that same approach, and will give lot of support to the equipment manufacturers, to the material manufacturers, and to the and to all other ecosystem partners that will be a significant part of our journey," the Union Minister added.

Vaishnaw said a lot of learning curve has been crossed.

"ISM 2.0 will be additional, will be increased, will be enhanced. From where we stand,...ISM 1.0 was a beginning. It was when we had to start, start a totally new industry in our country, from right, from scratch, right? It was a totally new journey. So once we have taken this first step up to here, now we have significantly more experience behind us," he said.

"A lot of learning curve has been crossed, so it's time to increase the scope of work that we take. So the increased scope of work is what I said, capital equipment, materials, and the other things which go into semiconductor manufacturing will be part of it. And of course, fab and OSAT units will be an integral part of this journey," he added.

The Minister also confirmed that the SCL Mohali Lab modernisation plan is on and the decision will be taken by the Cabinet soon.

"One thing which practically every semiconductor player has shared with us is that India respects IP items. India respects the development processes. India respects the way the entire industry has grown over decades and how additional contribution can be made by a country, which is something very fundamental to developing trust."

He said that the trust has resulted in industry players setting up their GCCs, and many companies are coming for their equipment development, supply chain development.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the Semicon India 2025 in the national capital. Speaking at the event, he said that the day is not far when the smallest chips made in India will drive the biggest change in the world. He added that even though India started late in the semiconductor sector, nothing can stop the country now. (ANI)

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