FUELLING INDIA'S SILICON VALLEY ASPIRATIONS

It took 40-plus years for the US and over 25 years for Taiwan to establish their Silicon Valley.

- SHRABONA GHOSH

How long will it take for India to fulfill its perspicacious intent? Anchored by strategic positioning, a commitment to digitalization and demographic advantages, India stands tall to achieve its Silicon Valley ambitions. As global value chains reshuffle amidst a push for increased diversification, resilience and security, India has become an increasingly competitive global player in advanced technology industries: It aims to reach $300 billion worth of electronics manufacturing and $120 billion exports by FY 26, supported by the vision of a $1 trillion digital economy by 2025.

"What the West achieved over a period of four decades, India is close to imitating the numbers in a span of five years! At this acceleration rate we can see a massive steep curve in a way that is going to take over the global economy to make India the fifth country to have a Silicon Valley," said Akarsh Hebbar, global managing director, Vedanta Semiconductors and Display.

The country is nurturing its objective to become the largest ecosystem for electronic manufacturing globally. The manufacture of semiconductor and display glass is dominated by a handful of countries globally - Vedanta believes that to achieve self-sufficiency in electronics manufacturing, the country needs to reduce its reliance on electronics imports. Last year in July, Foxconn and Vedanta group called off their joint venture that had plans to invest $19.5 billion to set up a manufacturing unit in Gujarat. However, Vedanta is still committed to its semiconductor aspirations: Chairman Anil Agarwal reiterated the company's willingness to set up a semiconductor manufacturing unit.