Key Points

New Delhi [India], September 1 (ANI): India's semiconductor consumption is expected to scale to upwards of USD 120 billion market by 2030, a sizable increase from the current USD 24 billion offtake, Sandeep Kumar, CEO, L&T Semiconductor Technologies Ltd, and Chairman of the newly-formed Semiconductor Product Leadership Forum, said.

"India don't manufacture semiconductors as of now. We definitely use it. We consume about USD 24 billion worth semiconductors and it is expected to rise to upwards of USD 100-120 billion by 2030. When India starts to produce those chips, our share will definitely rise," Sandeep Kumar told ANI.

India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), the apex industry body representing the electronics and semiconductor sector, today announced the launch of ICEA Semiconductor Product Design Leadership Forum. This strategic platform is designed to position India as a global leader in semiconductor product design, IP creation, and high-value innovation.

"Making semiconductors need collaboration of multiple companies. This forum is to create an ecosystem so that we can create hundreds of these companies in India, enable the entrepreneurs and enable the bigger companies," the L&T official said.

To create an ecosystem, India needs technology, finances, talents, and customers.

The Forum aims to launch approximately 100 new, successful companies through this initiative by 2035. "We want to create that full pipeline so that these companies can succeed," he said.

India rolling out its first chip is a milestone and a big achievement, he applauded the nascent but promising semiconductor ecosystem that's shaping up.

He suggested that India has to chart its own path and strategy in the semiconductor ecosystem and not copy the tried-and-tested methods use by other major semiconductor majors.

"We have good system knowledge, we make all sorts of software and systems. The knowledge we have here in India is lacked by many semiconductor majors. If we utilize our knowledge, we will be able to make good quality semiconductors. That can be India's differentiator," he said.

By 2035, India's semiconductor industry is poised to contribute to the country's GDP, the L&T official said.

Asked about how many jobs this semiconductor ecosystem will create, he said around 5 lakh workforce will be absorbed, including a large number of engineers.

Union Minister for Information and Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated the advanced Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facility of CG Semi Private Limited in Sanand, Gujarat, last week. The Minister also announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will "soon" dedicate the country's first chip produced from this facility.

In June 2023, the government approved the first proposal for establishing a semiconductor unit in Sanand.

As of date, the government has approved 10 semiconductor manufacturing projects with a cumulative investment of more than Rs 1.60 lakh crore in 6 states - Gujarat, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has begun work on the next phase of India's semiconductor programme, Semicon 2.0, and is currently holding discussions with the Ministry of Finance and other stakeholders to finalise its contours.

Under India Semiconductor Mission, or Semicon 1.0, the government had made an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore for the development of the semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country. The Rs 75,000 crore outlay has almost been fully committed to projects.

- ANI