Modi pitches India as global chipmaking hub
· CNA · JoinRead a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched India as a new global hub for semiconductor production on Thursday (Sep 17), urging technology firms to invest in what he called a "reliable" location.
"Chips from Indian plants are reaching customers in India and across the world," Modi told executives from major global technology firms at a semiconductor conference in New Delhi.
Modi met senior executives from Indian and global technology companies on Wednesday ahead of the conference, according to his office.
Representatives of Tata Electronics and CG Power, as well as Advantest, Applied Materials, ASML, Foxconn, Intel and Micron, were among those attending.
CNA Games
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less
Countries are seeking to secure semiconductor supply chains and bolster vulnerabilities in global chip production.
"There are many challenges in front of the semiconductor industry. Amidst these challenges, the semiconductor industry also needs new and reliable locations," Modi said. "And India, I can assure you, is preparing itself for this."
"When supply chains are being weaponised, its importance goes up further," Modi added.
India launched its domestic chipmaking push in 2021 and has since backed a range of fabrication, design and packaging units.
Critics say India is decades late starting, and remains far behind chip leaders in Taiwan, the Netherlands, Japan and China.
"GOLDMINE"
But Modi reiterated plans to train 100,000 engineers for semiconductor projects and 10 million people in artificial intelligence.
"Such a huge talent pool is a goldmine for all of you," he told industry officials, painting India as a secure place to set up operations.
India in July approved a new semiconductor programme, offering more than US$13 billion in financial assistance to expand domestic chip production and build a wider semiconductor ecosystem.
The "Semicon 2.0" initiative builds on a programme launched in 2021 to reduce India's reliance on imported chips and attract investment into the sector.
On Thursday, Modi remotely opened commercial production for two sites, taking the number of semiconductor projects in commercial production in India to five.
"For any country to reach here in such a short time isn't easy. This isn't a sector where you set up a factory, and work is done. It takes decades to achieve tech capabilities in this sector," Modi told industry heads.
"In India, with your assistance, chip design, manufacturing, equipment manufacturing, material ecosystem, testing capability - we worked at all of it, at the same time, and have achieved success in it."
India's semiconductor market has expanded from US$38 billion in 2023 to an estimated US$45-50 billion in 2024-25, with government targets of US$100-110 billion by 2030.
Newsletter
Week in Review
Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review
Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.
Newsletter
Morning Brief
Subscribe to CNA’s Morning Brief
An automated curation of our top stories to start your day.
Sign up for our newsletters
Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app