PLAYING THE LONG GAME

Two years after India brought in a scheme to promote semiconductor manufacturing, it is yet to approve a chip fab application. But a strong foundation has been laid

- NIDHI SINGAL

 

A MONTH AFTER Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US in June 2023—when semiconductor major Micron announced plans to invest in India—he inaugurated the second edition of the annual Semicon India summit in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Since it came close on the heels of Micron’s announcement of its intention to set up an ATMP (assembly, testing, marking, and packaging) unit, there were hopes that more would follow. There was just one; AMD’s commitment to invest $400 million to set up its largest design centre in Bengaluru. But India has yet to receive an application from a leading chip player for setting up a semiconductor fabrication unit. Media reports suggest that Tower Semiconductor has filed a fresh application, but the government is yet to confirm this.

Of course, India’s dream of becoming a semiconductor hub isn’t new. There have been failures aplenty over the past 60 years. But hopes soared that that script would change when, in December 2021, the government announced a production-linked incentive scheme worth ₹76,000 crore for chip and display fabrication units.

The timing seemed ideal since the announcement came in the middle of an acute shortage of chips globally. Timing apart, the government is aware of the challenges in this path and is taking the long view. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State, Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), says, “Semiconductor manufacturing is not a today or tomorrow game. It is a day after tomorrow and down the road game... decades-long game.”