Expect chip plants' groundbreaking in 18-24 months: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Driven by the government's semiconductor subsidy scheme, India expects to see the groundbreaking of up to two fabs and packaging units in the next 18-24 months, said Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

“We not only have a blueprint in terms of semiconductor research, design and manufacturing, but also an approach to integrate higher education with it and develop a talent strategy. We will be the hub of talent for the global electronics ecosystem,” Chandrasekhar said at a technology conference in Delhi on October 26.

The minister of state for electronics and information technology also highlighted that he has asked information technology ministers of states to wake up to opportunities in emerging areas of technology.

He said that there was a lot of competition between states to attract chipmakers – and how Gujarat clinched the deal in one case by giving a top-up subsidy over the amount that the Centre has promised in its incentive scheme.

Last month, the government tweaked its Rs 76,000 crore incentive scheme for semiconductors and display manufacturing units, offering to give 50 per cent of the project cost across all categories of factories as it looks to woo global players such as Intel to set up production bases in India to help cut reliance on imports.

The production linked incentive, or PLI, scheme announced in December last year had offered varying degrees of fiscal support to different categories for development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in India. These ranged from 30-50 per cent.

Now, this has been made uniform — the government will fund 50 per cent of the project cost across all technology nodes for setting up of semiconductor fabs, including not just cutting-edge computing chips but also those used in power, telecom and automotive sectors.

Shaping supply chains with trust

When asked about his views on the US curbing exports of chip-making technology to China, Chandrasekhar remarked that it was a ‘belated wisdom’, but a necessary move.

“Since way back in 2017 and 2018, Prime Minister Modi has been saying that democracies should co-operate on the future of technology. Global supply chains have to be shaped not just by price and availability, but also by trust (between countries),” he said.

“What we are seeing today is less to do with China and more to do with the realisation that it would have been a shame if all the technological progress were to be hijacked by an authoritarian country,” he added.

Safety in internet ecosystem

The minister also talked about the importance of the government’s responsibility towards ensuring safety and trust in the internet ecosystem, apart from supporting innovation.

“We don't look at safety & trust and innovation as binaries. We think there is a way of ensuring innovation continues, but at the same time making sure that it is not creating havoc – as crypto can if you allow it to be used as an alternative to central bank administered currencies,” he said.

The minister also said that the new data protection bill that is in the works and the  upcoming amendment to IT rules will both be clear and simple enough for a citizen to establish what their rights are.

“Lawyers are not going to find very much to do after the data protection bill or IT rules amendments,” he added.