Aiming for 10% share of global ATMP/OSAT market in 5 yrs: Ashwini Vaishnaw

With the Cabinet recently clearing three more semiconductor projects, which include a mega fab plant by the Tata group, India is set to enter the exclusive club of countries that have such facilities. In an interview with Surajeet Das Gupta, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw talks of what India’s semiconductor strategy will be in the next five to 10 years to make the country not only “aatmanirbhar” but also a global player in the business. Edited excerpts.

Now that four projects have been cleared, what is the government’s long-term semiconductor vision? What are we looking to achieve?

It is a vision for the next 20 years. The focus is to develop the ecosystem in India. In the coming five years, we would like to see four-six more fabs, six-ten compound semiconductor fabs, one-two display fabs, and eight-ten ATMP (assembly, testing, marking, and packaging) plants. This will go a long way in creating aatmanirbharta in semiconductor requirements. In a short span of time, we have approved four major projects, including one fab and three ATMP/OSATs (outsourced semiconductor assembly and test) in India with a combined investment of Rs 1.48 trillion and will have an output of 80 million chips a day. The design, fab and ATMP value chain is here in India. Also, having our intellectual property for ATMP technology is a significant achievement.

Will India become a key export hub for OSAT and ATMP? Today Malaysia has 14 per cent of the global OSAT market while Taiwan has 40 per cent. What is the target we have given ourselves for the next five and 10 years?

Over the next five years, we should aim at 10 per cent of the global ATMP/OSAT market share, and in 10 years we will ramp it up to 25 per cent. The three ATMP plants will be exporting a significant portion of their production. “Made in India” chips will be used in all leading automobile companies in the world.

While we are starting with the higher nodes, what is our plan in the next few years? Where do we want to go from here?

We are starting with the 28 nm node. Over the next five years, we will absorb this technology and co-develop lower nodes. We have two potential partners who are willing to help Bharat move towards smaller node manufacturing technology. We would like to move towards this journey after assimilating 28 nm technology.

What is the research and development plan so that we are also able to make technology indigenously? What are the steps being taken? What is the time frame for this?

We are developing SCL Mohali as a research and development fab. It will do commercial manufacturing also. It will be developed with an investment of about Rs 10,000 crore.

What is the potential of India becoming a manufacturing centre for semiconductor machinery? What are the steps that we have taken and what is the response we are getting from global players?

With three factors -- a large talent pool, availability of green energy for manufacturing, and a globally trusted country -- Bharat is well poised to become a global semiconductor manufacturing centre. We have had good success in a short period since launching the ISM (India Semiconductor Mission). Over the next five years, we will build upon this foundation. We will also leverage the design ecosystem that we have for developing some major chipsets. Global players are enthusiastic now. Earlier they were asking, should we go to India? Now they are asking, how soon can we go to India?!

How much subsidy will be required in the next five years? After how many years will subsidies end?

Over the next five years, we anticipate a surge of similar magnitude in proposals. The success of our current projects is acting as a catalyst, attracting major players in the semiconductor industry to invest in India. Given the pace of expenditure, with a substantial amount utilised in two years, a proportional financial commitment over the next five years seems reasonable. Subsidies will remain a critical component until sufficient projects gain approval.

What is the kind of global play in semiconductors we are looking at in terms of setting up plants abroad?

The world today trusts India thanks to PM Narendra Modi’s leadership; beyond the concept of “friendshoring”, the world will consider “trust-shoring” for doing business. In our pursuit of semiconductor excellence, our primary focus remains developing a comprehensive ecosystem within India. However, we recognise the strategic advantage of Indian semiconductor companies collaborating to establish fabs outside India.