Bengaluru, NFAPost: A new world order is forming and India must seize this opportunity, said Prime Minister Narenda Modi while delivering the inaugural speech at the SemiconIndia 2022, the first ever annual summit of various stake holders in the semiconductor industry.
“A new world order is forming and we must seize this opportunity. We have worked hard over the last few years to create an environment that encourages growth. India has the appetite for tech and risk-taking,” said Narendra Modi.
Speaking at the summit, he also highlighted the fact that the government has put the odds in favour as far as possible through a supportive policy environment.
“We have shown that India means business! Now, it’s over to you. Through this Conference, we aim to engage with domain experts. We will work with stakeholders to understand what more can be done to build a vibrant semi-conductor ecosystem,” said Prime Minister.
Narendra Modi highlighted the fact that after all semi-conductors are playing a critical role in the world in more ways than all can imagine.
“It is our collective aim to establish India as one of the key partners in global semiconductor supply chains. We want to work in this direction based on the principle of Hi-tech, high quality and high reliability,” he said.
The Prime Minister also highlighted six reasons for India being an attractive investment destination for Semi-conductor technologies.
“First, we are building the digital infrastructure to connect over 1.3 billion Indians. You have all heard of India’s financial inclusion, banking and digital payment revolution. UPI is the world’s most efficient payment infrastructure today. We are using digital technology to transform lives in all sectors of governance from health and welfare to inclusion and empowerment. We are one of the largest consumers of data per capita. And we continue to grow,” he said.
The second point he highlighted was the fact that India is paving the way for leading the next technology revolution.
“We are on our way to connect six hundred thousand villages with broadband. We are investing in developing capabilities in 5G, IoT and clean energy technologies. We are working to unleash the next wave of innovation in data, AI and other technologies,” said the Prime Minister.
Narendra Modi also said India is headed for robust economic growth and has the world’s fastest-growing startup ecosystem. He also said new unicorns are coming up every few weeks.
“India’s own consumption of Semi-conductors is expected to cross $80 billion Dollars by 2026 and $110 Billion by 2030.
Fourth important point he highlighted for India to become an attractive destination for semiconductor is primarily because India has undertaken wide-ranging reforms for improving ease of doing business in India.
“Last year, we abolished more than 25,000 compliances and gave a push towards auto-renewal of licenses. Similarly, digitization is also bringing speed and transparency to the regulatory framework. Today, we have one of the most favourable taxation structures in the world,” said Narendra Modi.
Fifth pointe the PM highlighted that India as a country is investing heavily in skilling and training young Indians for the needs of 21st century.
“We have an exceptional semi-conductor design talent pool which makes upto 20% of the world’s semiconductor design engineers. Almost all of the top 25 semi-conductor design companies have their design or R&D centers in our country,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As for the final point, he highlighted that government of India has undertaken several measures towards transforming the Indian manufacturing sector. “At a time when humanity was fighting a once in a century pandemic, India was not only improving the health of our people but also the health of our economy,” said the Prime Minister.
He also touched upon the Production Linked Incentives schemes that offer incentives of over $26 billion in 14 key sectors.
“Over the next 5 years, the electronics manufacturing sector is expected to see record growth. We recently announced Semi-con India Programme with a total outlay of over 10 billion dollars. This program aims to provide financial support to companies investing in semi-conductors, display manufacturing and design ecosystem,” said the Prime Minister.
He also pointed out that he is aware that in order for a semi-conductor ecosystem to flourish, it is necessary to ensure adequate support from the Government.
“Allow me to put our approach in the language of semi-conductors itself. In earlier times, industries were ready to do their work but the government was like a ”Not Gate”. When any input flows into the ”Not Gate”, it gets negated. So many needless compliances and no ‘ease of doing business.’ But, we understand that the government must be like the ”And Gate”. While the industry works hard, the government must work even harder,” he said.
Prime Minister also said he would like to assure that the government will support semiconductor industry and will continue to support in future as well.
“We have taken care to see that the Semi-con India programme addresses various parts of the eco-system such as semi-conductor fab, display fab, Design, Assembly, Test, Marking and Packaging of semi-conductors,” said the Prime Minister.
The Prime Ministe also exhorted the industry stake holders to provide practical suggestions about how India can move towards becoming a hub for semi-conductors for the world in the coming years.
“Through this conference we aim to engage with domain experts. We will work with stake-holders to understand what more can be done to build a vibrant semi-conductor ecosystem. I am confident that this conference will have rich deliberations which will help steer India into a new future,” he said.
