India a ‘reliable partner’: PM Modi invites semiconductor firms | India News

GANDHINAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday pitched India as a “trusted and reliable partner” to the global semiconductor industry, arguing that the world’s largest democracy will play a critical role in Industry 4.0 as it works on building a strong foundation to create a robust chip manufacturing and allied ecosystem within the country.

Flanked by some of the top executives in the global semiconductor industry at the second edition of SemiconIndia, Modi said while an aspirational middle class is fuelling the demand for products built using chips, investment inflows are being led by the country’s ambitious $10-billion incentive scheme, a reliable energy supply, land, and fast-developing strength of skilled manpower and engineers.
Skilled engineers, designers are India’s strength, says PM

The PM said the world today needs a “reliable and trusted” supply chain after facing the side-effects of the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. “India realises that a semiconductor is not just our necessity, the world, too, needs a trusted, reliable chip supply. Who can be a more trusted partner than the world’s largest democracy? Investors trust India as it has a stable, responsible and reform-oriented government. The industry has faith in India as infrastructure is developing in every sector. The tech sector believes in India as technology is growing here. The semiconductor industry trusts India as we have a massive talent pool.”
The government is seeking to create an ecosystem for international chipmakers and electronics players at a time when they are looking to diversify their manufacturing bases beyond China, which caused massive disruption following the Covid outbreak, affecting production of mobile phones and automobiles. The idea is also to reduce import dependence in these segments, where shipments are rising. Apart from a large domestic market, the government is also positioning India as a base for exports.
Modi said skilled engineers and designers are India’s strength in its quest for semiconductor investments. “Anyone who wants to be a part of the world’s most vibrant and unified market has faith in India. When we tell you to make in India, it also includes ‘let’s make for India, make for the world’.”
The PM told the companies that India understands the need of a global supply chain, raw materials, trained manpower and machinery. “Any sector in which we have worked closely with private players has touched new heights, be it the space sector or geospatial sector, we have got excellent results everywhere.”
Giving the analogy of a conductor and insulator where energy can pass through conductors and not through insulators, Modi said that India is ticking every checkbox to become “an excellent conductor for semiconductor investments”.
Referring to Moore’s Law which has exponential growth at its heart, he said that India is witnessing the same phenomenon when it comes to digital and electronic manufacturing. “India’s share in global electronic manufacturing has increased manifold. In 2014, India’s electronic manufacturing was less than $30 billion, which has crossed $100 billion now. The export of electronics and mobile devices has doubled in the last two years. And while there were only two mobile manufacturing units in India before 2014, today this number has gone beyond 200.”