'For fabs... we have to make a start now'

Vinod Dham, the father of the Pentium processor and a member of the advisory committee of the India Semiconductor Mission, talks about the challenges ahead and what the government should be mindful of as it aims to become a hub for fabs

- Nidhi Singal

The semiconductor shortage in recent years has brought forth how critical a resource it is for the global economy. This shortage, which was aggravated by disruptions to the global supply chain, led countries in the space to double down on manufacturing, while some which did not have manufacturing facilities decided to set them up. Although late, India extended its vision for Aatma NirbharBharat to semiconductor chips with the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM)-which has a financial outlay of ₹76,000 crore on December 15, 2021. For years, India has dreamt of mass-manufacturing chips, and to help it on the journey, it has set up an advisory committee for ISM. One of the members of the committee is Vinod Dham, popularly known as the 'father of the Pentium chip'. The 72-year-old, in a freewheeling interview with Business Today's Nidhi Singal, says that setting up semiconductor manufacturing is a Herculean task, and details India's collective effort to make it possible. Edited excerpts:

Q: It has been a year since the government announced the semiconductor scheme. What has the progress been so far?

A: ISM is being led by global experts in the semiconductor and display industries. It acts as the nodal agency for efficient and smooth implementation of the schemes to set up semiconductor and display fabs. We have already received several proposals in the areas of chip fab, display fab, packaging and design. These are in various stages of due diligence to establish the fit and eligibility qualifications for approval. Several advisory working groups have been set up to accelerate the pace of due diligence. Each group has key domain experts who weigh [in with] their expertise on the proposals. Considering how recently this scheme was launched, I believe very good progress has been made to date.