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Description

INDIA’S SEMICONDUCTOR MISSION

India's Semiconductor Mission: Fostering Indigenous Chip Manufacturing for Technological Advancement

Description: Learn about India's ambitious Semiconductor Mission aiming to boost indigenous semiconductor and display manufacturing, driving technological growth and self-reliance in electronics.

Relevance: Science and Technology

·         Developments and their applications and effects in everyday life

·         Achievements of Indians in science & technology

·         Indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

About:

·         It was launched in 2021 with a total financial outlay of Rs76,000 crore under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY).

·         It is part of the comprehensive program for the development of sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in the country.

Aim:

Aims to provide financial support to companies investing in semiconductors, display manufacturing and design ecosystem.

What are the Components?

a)      Scheme for setting up of Semiconductor Fabs in India:

·         It provides fiscal support to eligible applicants for setting up of Semiconductor Fabs which is aimed at attracting large investments for setting up semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities in the country.

b)      Scheme for setting up of Display Fabs in India:

·         It provides fiscal support to eligible applicants for setting up of Display Fabs which is aimed at attracting large investments for setting up TFT LCD / AMOLED based display fabrication facilities in the country.

c)       Scheme for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors Fab and Semiconductor Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) / OSAT facilities in India:

·         The Scheme provides a fiscal support of 30% of the Capital Expenditure to the eligible applicants for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics (SiPh) / Sensors (including MEMS) Fab and Semiconductor ATMP / OSAT(Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) facilities in India.

d)      Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme:

·         It offers financial incentives, design infrastructure support across various stages of development and deployment of semiconductor design for Integrated Circuits (ICs), Chipsets, System on Chips (SoCs), Systems & IP Cores and semiconductor linked design.

Significance:

·         to organize efforts for promoting semiconductors and display industry in a more structured, focused, and comprehensive manner.

·         It will formulate a comprehensive long-term strategy for developing semiconductors & display manufacturing facilities and semiconductor design ecosystem in the country.

·         It will facilitate the adoption of trusted electronics through secure semiconductors and display supply chains, including raw materials, specialty chemicals, gasses, and manufacturing equipment.

·         It will ensure a multi-fold growth of Indian semiconductor design industry by providing requisite support in the form of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools, foundry services and other suitable mechanisms for early-stage startups.

·         Promotion of indigenous Intellectual Property (IP) generation and encourage, enable and incentivize Transfer of Technologies (ToT).

·         ISM will enable collaborations and partnership programs with national and international agencies, industries and institutions for catalyzing collaborative research, commercialization and skill development.

What is the need of Promoting Semiconductor Industry So Much?

·         Semiconductor is the heart of modern economics.

·         In today’s world of technology, when almost everything revolves around electronic gadgets, one cannot overstate the importance these microchips hold. Also known as Integrated Circuits (ICs), these chips are primarily made out of silicon and germanium.

·         Without these chips, there would be no smartphones, radios, TVs, laptops, computers or even advanced medical equipment.

·         They are used to fabricate electronic devices. Also, with the emergence of e-vehicles, the demand for semiconductors is expected to see a big boom.

·         The Covid-19 pandemic has shown that the demand for electronic gadgets will only go uphill from here.

·         In all this, the industry seems to be an attractive place to make early inroads into. India’s own consumption of semiconductors is expected to cross USD 80 billion by 2026 and to USD 110 billion by 2030.

·         There are not many countries in the world that manufacture these chips. The industry is dominated by the United States of America, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and the Netherlands. Germany is also an emerging producer of ICs.

·         In all this, it might actually be a good idea for India to get on the bus early.