30-Apr-2022: Semicon India Conference 2022 sets in motion the roadmap to catalyze semiconductor ecosystem

Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of turning India into a thriving semiconductor hub kick started with multiple Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) signed between the Government, leading semiconductor industry players and industry associations.

The wheels were set in motion to Catalyze India’s semiconductor ecosystem, today, as design and co-development pacts were announced at Semicon India 2022. Recently India has announced the DIR-V Program to develop Siliconize and create design wins for future around SHAKTI and VEGA RISC-V Processors.

DIR-V Program with Prof. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras as Chief Architect and Shri Krishna Kumar Rao as Program Manager has been initiated with a vision to make India not only a RISC-V Talent Hub for the World but also supplier of DIR-V solutions for Servers, Mobile devices, Automotive, IoT & Microcontrollers across the globe.

DIR-V has announced Five MoUs for the use of indigenously developed RISC-V Processors -SHAKTI and VEGA.

1. MoU between SONY India and DIR-V SHAKTI Processor (IIT Madras) for the Systems/Products developed by SONY.
2. MoU between ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), Thiruvananthapuram and DIR-V SHAKTI Processor (IIT Madras) for development of high performance SoCs (System on Chip) and for Fault Tolerant Computer Systems.
3. MoU between Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Department of Atomic Energy and DIR-V SHAKTI Processor (IIT Madras) for the Systems/Products developed by IGCAR.
4. MoU between Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and DIR-V VEGA Processor (C-DAC) for Rudra Server board, Cyber security, and Language Solutions.
5. MoU between Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) and DIR-V VEGA Processor (C-DAC) for the 4G/5G, Broadband, IOT/ M2M solutions

Additionally, an intent of MoU was announced between IISc Bangalore and SEMI, USA for building core competence of quantum technologies - multi-qubit superconducting quantum processors, photonic processors, diamond-based magnetometers, lab-level quantum-secured communication network etc.

SEMI, USA and IESA also announced an MoU for exploring the potential for growth of Electronics and Semiconductor industry in India and thereby bring global major players in semiconductor to leverage the opportunities for catalyzing the semiconductor ecosystem in India. IESA also released an industry report - India Semiconductor Market Demand.

Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, said,” There has been an exponential growth in electronics production in India. The sector has grown to fulfill domestic demand and to export globally. This is fueling demand for microprocessors and chips. The time is ripe for India to rise and take up this challenge head on.

Our startup ecosystem is replete with some of the best minds in technology and I am confident that our startups will drive the next wave of innovation, leading India’s digital economy. Our design and innovation ecosystem are robust and thriving and I am certain our next wave of unicorns will be from this sector.”

The second day of the conference also had invigorating sessions and discussions with global and Indian technocrats. Mr. Siva Sivaram, President – Western Digital addressed a rapt audience and spoke on India’s resilience to Semiconductor Supply Chain. Raja Koduri, Chief Architect and Senior Vice President, Intel’s IAGS division delivered a talk on “From Angstroms to Zetta-scale: Silicon, Systems and Software in India”. The session covered the real potential in AI, System Design & middleware for Indian Startups. Mr. Akarsh Hebbar, MD, Avanstrate delivered a session on Indian Opportunities in Integrated Semiconductor and Display. He emphasized on the role of semiconductor sector given the rise in demand and projected growth in the sector in the coming years. Upcoming technologies such as 5G will further boost demand and this sets up India perfectly to build an ecosystem that can cater to local demand and also reach Indian chips and microprocessors across the globe.

29-Apr-2022: PM inaugurates the Semicon India Conference 2022

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated Semicon India Conference 2022 and shared his remarks via video conferencing at the inaugural session today. Union Ministers, leaders of the Semiconductor industry, investors, academics and members of the diplomatic corps were among those present on the occasion.

At the outset, the Prime Minister welcomed all and expressed happiness that the conference is taking place in India. He underlined the critical role of semiconductors in today’s world and said “it is our collective aim to establish India as one of the key partners in global semiconductor supply chains. We want to work in this direction based on the principle of Hi-tech, high quality and high reliability.”

The Prime Minister underlined six reasons for India being an attractive investment destination for Semiconductor technologies.

First, India is building a digital infrastructure to connect over 1.3 billion Indians. Describing the strides that India has recently made in the field of financial inclusion, banking and digital payment revolution, the Prime Minister said “we are using digital technology to transform lives in all sectors of governance from health and welfare to inclusion and empowerment.”

Second, the Prime Minister said, with steps like connecting six hundred thousand villages with broadband investment in developing capabilities in 5G, IoT and clean energy technologies, India is paving the way to lead the next technology revolution.

Third, India is headed for robust economic growth with the world's fastest-growing Startup Ecosystem. India's own consumption of Semiconductors is expected to cross 80 billion Dollars by 2026 and 110 Billion Dollars by 2030.

Fourth, India has undertaken wide-ranging reforms for improving the ease of doing business in India. The Prime Minister informed about measures like the abolition of more than 25,000 compliances, a push towards auto-renewal of licenses, transparency and speed in regulatory framework via digitization and one of the most favourable taxation structures in the world.

Fifth reason, said the Prime Minister, is heavy investment in skilling and training young Indians for the needs of the 21st century. “We have an exceptional semiconductor design talent pool which makes up to 20% of the world's semiconductor design engineers. Almost all of the top 25 semiconductor design companies have their design or R&D centres in our country”, he added.

Sixth, the Prime Minister said that India has undertaken several measures towards transforming the Indian manufacturing sector. “At a time when humanity was fighting a once in a century pandemic, India was not only improving the health of our people but also the health of our economy”, he said. Prime Minister Modi talked about ''Production Linked Incentives'' schemes that offer incentives of over 26 Billion Dollars in 14 key sectors. Over the next 5 years, the electronics manufacturing sector is expected to see record growth, he informed. Shri Modi also told the audience about the recently announced Semi-con India Programme with a total outlay of over 10 billion dollars. This program aims to provide financial support to companies investing in semiconductors, display manufacturing and design ecosystems.

The Prime Minister acknowledged the need for government support and assured the audience of the best efforts of the government to provide a conducive environment for business. “While the industry works hard, the government must work even harder”, he said.

Noting the formation of the new world order, the Prime Minister asked to seize the opportunity that is emerging. “We have worked hard over the last few years to create an environment that encourages growth. India has an appetite for tech and risk-taking. We have put the odds in your favour as far as possible through a supportive policy environment. We have shown that India means business”, the Prime Minister concluded.