ISM To Pave The Roadmap For India’s Global Electronics Presence, Experts Opine

With India’s increased consumption of electronic products, the nation is all set to seriously pursue its semiconductor mission. ‘India Semiconductor Mission’ (ISM) is a specialised and independent business division aimed at building a vibrant semiconductor and display ecosystem. It is a vision within the Digital India Corporation that will lead the country’s emergence into a global hub for electronics manufacturing and design.

The mission to push for ‘Atma Nirbharta’ (self-reliance) in electronics and semiconductors started gaining momentum in December 2021 with the Centre’s approval for Semicon India programme with an aid of Rs 76,000 crore. Since its inception, ISM has enjoyed great attention from across the globe. 

Speaking with BW Businessworld, Krishna Rangasayee, CEO and founder at SiMa.ai said, “Today, we are witnessing remarkable growth in the semiconductor market in India, fuelled by the escalating demand for electronics and the country's steadfast commitment to digital transformation.”

Scheme 

According to the Ministry of Electronics and IT, four schemes have been introduced under the Semicon India programme namely: the Scheme for setting up Semiconductor Fabs, the Scheme for setting up Display Fabs, the Scheme for setting up Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors Fab and Semiconductor Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) / OSAT facilities in India and Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme. These schemes are to provide financial support for setting up semiconductor fab facilities in the country. In addition to the above schemes, Government has also approved the modernisation of the Semi-Conductor laboratory, Mohali as a brownfield fab.

India's Top Semiconductor Companies 

Till now, India has not been a contender in the global semiconductors race. Hence, there aren’t really any giant Indian chip-making companies. But now, several firms are pushing the nation’s chip ambitions including, Bharat Electronics (BEL), CDIL, Applied Materials, TSMC India, Micron Technology India, Solex Energy, Masamb Electronics, Semtronics Micro Systems, Samsung Semiconductor India and Broadcom. Despite the presence of these companies in the country, India is known for its 100 per cent import in the semiconductors sector, with spending touching USD 10 billion in 2013, as per reports. 

In 2020, India’s spending on electronics imports stood at USD 15 billion, with 37 per cent of electronic goods coming from China. The situation is likely to change in the coming years. Applied Materials’ ISM investments are already pinning hopes on the optimistic transformation.

Recently, Applied Materials announced a gross investment of USD 400 million over four years to establish the new centre in India. In its first five years of operation, the centre is expected to support more than USD 2 billion of planned investments and create at least 500 advanced engineering jobs along with potentially another 2,500 jobs in the manufacturing ecosystem, the company confirmed.

Commenting on the nation’s semiconductor vision, Prabu Raja, President of the Semiconductor Products Group at Applied Materials said, “We envision Applied’s strong base of engineering talent collaborating more deeply with domestic and global companies operating in India to strengthen the foundational equipment supply chain serving the global semiconductor manufacturing industry.”

PM's State Visit – Boost To ISM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first "official state visit" to the United States not only marked the highest expression of a bilateral relationship with the superpower but also paved the way for an optimistic future for the Indian semiconductor industry. American semiconductor majors including, Micron Technology, Applied Materials and Lam Research, disclosed their ISM investment plans during the state visit.

Sanjay Gupta, Chairperson at India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA) said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the US, a key semiconductor nation, has undeniably played a pivotal role in shaping India's semiconductor vision. The knowledge exchange, collaborations and technological advancements that emerged from this visit will undoubtedly contribute immensely to the success of our mission.”

Challenges

It has been observed that one of the first and foremost challenges for ISM is the need for an uninterrupted power supply. Some other challenges include water, availability of electronics grade silicon, chip design capabilities and more.

Hitesh Garg, India Country Manager, NXP told BW Businessworld that while there are still some challenges like high costs, infrastructure and talent gap, government incentive schemes like PLI and DLI, along with the right industry support can help India to become a global semiconductor hub. “We believe that India's progress in the semiconductor sector will continue to drive growth and establish India as a trusted partner in the global electronics and semiconductor value chains,” he added.

Weighing in on this, Jaswinder Ahuja, Corporate Vice President & India Managing Director, Cadence Design Systems said, Semiconductor Mission is India’s progressive move towards becoming a global semiconductor hub.

Progress

Speaking on ISM’s progress, the Union Minister of State for Electronics & Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar recently said that a vibrant Semicon design innovation ecosystem is rapidly growing in India with new startups, including five under the Semicon India Future Design programme. He also mentioned the strategic Indian RISC-V programme is to develop the next-generation Digital India RISCV (DIRV) chips and systems, according to reports.

The minister also took to Twitter to proclaim, "Big Big milestones in India's roadmap and growth as a Semiconductor nation.” His tweet emphasised that in the last 18 months after PM’s semiconductor vision announcement and the investment of Rs 76,000 crore. India's Semicon Ecosystem has achieved great progress.

“India certainly has the capability to develop semiconductor manufacturing operations, and we applaud the initiatives to develop further, but it won’t happen quickly,” said Michael Hurlston, President and CEO of Synaptics Inc. 

A faster, more sustainable and higher return on investment (ROI) path for ISM is the continued investment and expansion in chip development, such as those that involve the innovative design steps and creation of IP needed before the chip gets manufactured, Hurlston concluded.