First made-in-India chip to roll out in 2025: Ashwini Vaishnaw at Davos

Ashwini Vaishnaw

The first made-in-India chip will roll out in 2025, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in Davos, speaking to CNBCTV18's Shereen Bhan. The minister credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for developing a very strong semi-conductor industry in the country in a short span of time with focus on the entire ecosystem.

The minister said “MoUs with 104 universities are already in place, their course curriculum are being revised, there is a lot of focus on design with a separate investment scheme.”

In February last year, the Union government had approved the setting up of three semiconductor units in India. Minister Vaishnaw emphasised on the crucial role of conviction and appropriate policies in achieving this feat.

Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, Vaishnaw said the PM Modi launched a semiconductor policy in January 2022, adding that when he met senior representatives of the industry, the one thing they all were surprised about was how this much work could be done in such a short time.

The importance of resilience in semiconductors was underlined during the pandemic when many industries -- including the auto industries, medical devices industries and other electronics, and consumer electronics industries -- suffered because they did not have access to chips, which led to a belief that there should be greater diversification, especially for sourcing of semiconductors.

Vaishnaw also pointed out that semiconductor ecosystem companies are showing huge interest in India, and there has been a four times increase in participation in the 'Semicon India' events due to the potential that the country holds for the semiconductor ecosystem.