Focus on IPs, supply chain key to India’s semiconductor push, say industry leaders

UP Tech Next Summit

India needs to look at building intellectual property (IP) in the semiconductor industry to stay ahead of the curve, Ravi Ranjan, Managing Director, UP Electronics Corporation, has said.

India is making a push to establish a domestic semiconductor ecosystem to achieve self-reliance and also emerge as a reliable partner in the global supply chain, as the world trade goes through one of the most turbulent times.

Concurring with Ranjan, Nikul Shah, founder & CEO, IndieSemiC said to build IPs, India needs foundries. "That ecosystem is missing in India. If we create that ecosystem we can make affordable chips," he said. Now, the aim is to build a product nation, Shah added.

They were participating in a panel discussion at the CNBC-TV18 and Moneycontrol UP Tech Next Electronics and Semiconductor Summit on December 2 in Lucknow.

India’s semiconductor industry has large demand coming from auto, the telecom and healthcare industries, Mohammed Athar, Partner, PwC said. "India’s competitive advantage is that 20-25 percent of design talent is in Bengaluru. India needs to start thinking about vertical specialisation like focusing on auto chips and design," Athar said.

Ranjan took the opportunity to invite investment in the sector,  highlighting Uttar Pradesh government's efforts.

"The Uttar Pradesh government is creating an inflection point. We have dedicated a 1,000 acres semiconductor park near Jewar airport. With open arms we are inviting big companies and startups. We have an ecosystem of startups in UP that are designing chips. The state government has allocated Rs 1,000 crore funds for deep tech startups," he said.

The state is not trying to catch the wind but has a a long-term vision. "We are agile in policy amendments. We are playing strongly on the design part. We are looking at ISM 2.0," Ranjan said.

PwC's Athar pointed at areas where more efforts were needed.

"Talking about the park near Jewar airport, the supply-chain ecosystem is broken. If machinery is coming, we don't know where to keep them. There needs to be focus on managing the supply chain," he said.

Parag Naik, co-founder & CEO, Saankhya Labs, said while India has the skills, it lacks the ability to take risks. “We also lack patience because in this industry things take a long time," Naik said. Saankhya Labs develops wireless communication solutions and chipsets for 5G, broadcast, and satellite applications.

India also needs to focus on innovation. "If you start to follow someone like Nvidia then it is difficult to beat them at their own game," Naik said.