We are in era of silicon diplomacy, says PM Modi
“Today is an era of silicon diplomacy”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday while referring to the importance of semi-conductors and technology in modern-day world.
Modi went on to set a target of $500 billion production for the Indian electronics industry by the end of this decade. At present, the electronic production is $150 billion. This would create 60 lakh jobs, said the Prime Minister, who is often asked by the Opposition about lack of jobs in India.
The word ‘silicon’ used by the PM is material used to create electronic parts and semi-conductors.
The PM was speaking at the inaugural of the Global ‘SemiCon 2024’ event at Greater Noida, some 40 km south-east of the National Capital.
Modi used the example of ‘integrated circuits’ used in modern electronics to say India provides for ‘integrated eco system’ for the semi-conductor industry.
Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were also present at the event that was attended by members of the growing semi-conductor industry.
Modi mentioned how India was a partner in the ‘Quad’—India , US, Japan and Australia—semi-conductor supply chain. He reminded how agreements have been signed in Singapore—during his last visit on September 5. “We are ramping up cooperation with the US in this field,” Modi said.
An MoU on ‘India-Singapore Semiconductor Ecosystem Partnership’ inked on September 5 speaks about cooperation in developing a semi-conductor cluster, cultivation of talent in semi-conductor design and manufacturing.
The India-US tie-up mentioned by Modi stems from the January 2023 announcement of India-US ‘Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET)’. It promised “supporting the development of a semiconductor design, manufacturing, and fabrication ecosystem in India”.
Modi said India would pay a major role in the global manufacturing. “Our government is focused on streamlining the entire supply chain. Our aim is that all devices across the world would have an Indian-made chip,” said Modi.
From being the biggest importers of mobile phones in ten years, India is the world’s second largest producer and exporter of mobiles. India is also the second biggest market of 5G handsets.
Vaishnaw mentioned how five private sector semi-conductor units have been okayed since India launched the ‘programme for development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem’ in 2021.
The plant of US company Micron at Sanand and the Tata Electronics unit at Morigaon, Assam, have started construction. Work on the other three would start soon, the Minister said.
The other three are --- a Tata Electronics semiconductor fab in Dholera, Gujarat, CG Power unit in Sanand, Gujarat and the Kaynes Semicon Pvt Ltd semiconductor unit.
Vaishnaw said talent development has been key part. “We are committed to develop strong talent pool. A total of 113 universities and academic institutions are on board. The course- curriculum is designed as per the needs of the industry”, he added.
US based Lam Research’s semi-verse programme is running across 74 universities and has so far trained 2,600 students. The AMD has inaugurated its first global design centre at Bengaluru where 5,000 engineers are working. The Applied Materials has commissioned a first validation centre, the minister said adding that India has some 3 lakh design engineers and some 52,000 of these are working on really complex chips. Four major products are expected to emerge from these effort, Vaishnaw said.
Semi-conductors are a foundational industry. Chips are used in all smart phones, laptops, smart TV’s, Cars, air conditioners, military hardware, planes, satellites, engines, missiles, life saving devices and CT scans, among other equipment.
