India scaling up semicon push for global leadership: Meity Secretary

He also spoke about the importance of ensuring that intellectual property (IP) remains in India. He noted that the key concern is not ownership, but the use of Indian IP

The government is committed to supporting the semiconductor sector with ongoing investments and backing in the years ahead. The goal is to position India as a “power to reckon with” in the semiconductor industry, said S Krishnan, secretary of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY). He was speaking at the Nano Electronics Roadshow and Conference at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.

 

Krishnan highlighted ongoing efforts to improve the design-linked incentive scheme in the semiconductor sector. He emphasised the intention to expand the scheme beyond startups and MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) to include larger companies, thereby encouraging more investment and furthering progress.

 

He also spoke about the importance of ensuring that intellectual property (IP) remains in India. “We are working to ensure that the intellectual property stays Indian,” Krishnan said, noting that the key concern is not ownership, but the use of Indian IP.

 

Krishnan shared the example of Tata Electronics, where a combination of joint ventures and internal development, aided by the return of skilled Indian expatriates, is driving technological advancement. He pointed out that this is an example of the positive impact the Indian diaspora can have on innovation in the country.

 

“That is the spillover effect of the Indian diaspora, who have worked all over the world, developed a lot of these technologies, and are coming back now to do this here,” said Krishnan.

 

He was of the view that geopolitical factors could lead to an increase in such efforts in the future.

 

“I think we are less fussed about who actually owns the entity. We are more concerned that it needs to be Indian intellectual property and (we) design a scheme on that basis,” said Krishnan, adding that this would also attract risk-capital.

 

Krishnan discussed the government's role in supporting venture capitalists. He acknowledged that the government is not adept at identifying winners in the market but is willing to co-invest with venture capitalists.

 

He pointed out that the government is more conservative and prefers to back companies that are likely to succeed. However, he said, the government also understands that venture capitalism requires taking risks and accepting failures as part of the process.

 

“We're willing to sort of be in the background, invest alongside you, support the risk capital into design and more areas where fabulous companies can actually develop in this country. And that is another critical outcome that we'll be looking at,” said Krishnan.

 

The goal is to support the growth of semiconductor design and development in India through collaboration with private investors, Krishnan said. He stressed that the country needs to continue investing and pushing forward in research and development (R&D) to enhance its technological capabilities.

 

MeitY has approved investments in five semiconductor-related companies — one for a fab, and four for ATMP/OSAT (assembly, testing, marking, and packaging/outsourced semiconductor assembly and test) facilities. These four are: Micron Technology, Tata Electronics, CG Power, and Kaynes Technology.

 

India aims to launch its first domestically produced semiconductor chips by 2025 as part of its push for technological self-reliance.

 

India's semiconductor market is expected to grow from $52 billion (₹4.5 trillion) in 2024 to $103.4 billion (₹9 trillion) by 2030, according to a report by the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA).

 

However, Krishnan noted that the combined production of five companies supported by the government would still only meet a small fraction of this demand.

 

“Clearly, we need to expand. The game is not yet over. We need to become bigger players, and more investment is required,” said Krishnan, adding: “A long, hard slog lies ahead of us.”