Ritu Jha-
India now has 125,000 engineers working on chip designs, which is 20 percent of the engineers worldwide working in the area, according to Dr. K. Srikar Reddy, consul general of India in San Francisco.
Reddy made the point at SEMICON West 2024, held July 9-12 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. SEMICON West brings together the top figures in the electronics design and manufacturing supply chain. Reddy spoke about the state of the Indian economy, and the upcoming SEMICON India summit in India, at a fireside chat with Jennifer Boger, director, the Office of Information and Communication Technologies, U.S. Department of Commerce.
The consul general said that the Indian government is working to make India a destination for high-tech manufacturing, including that of semiconductors. He pointed out that the Indian economy is driven by its 1.4 billion young people, the average age of the population being 29 years.
“We also have a strong consumer industry. Now, India has become the second largest manufacturer of mobile phones,” Reddy said, adding, “We expect that the Indian electronics market will grow and reach around $300 billion by 2026.”
The electronics sector’s production in India was worth $105 billion in 2023, including $34.3 billion for semiconductors.
“India is already strong in research and development,” Reddy said. “So we thought it is very important to develop the semiconductor ecosystem in India.”
He said that the supply chain was hit by the pandemic, increasing the waiting periods for goods. But India now boasts the presence of all the top 25 design companies in the world, including Texas Instruments, Intel, Infineon, Nvidia, and Qualcomm.
Reddy also spoke of a government scheme that let four companies set up manufacturing facilities in India.
“Micron announced last June that it has already constructed a facility in Gujarat,” he said. Involved in assembly, testing, and packaging, it is expected to be operational by the end of the year. The government has also approved a Tata Electronics fabrication unit in Dholera, Gujarat, set up in partnership with Taiwan’s PSMC.
Speaking of the upcoming SEMICON India that will take place September 11–13, 2024 at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida, Delhi, India, Reddy said the US. sees India as an investment destination, particularly for the fabrication and assembly of custom packages. He said companies should explore operations in India, with 450 companies already registered to participate, including large companies.
“We hope there will be opportunities which the U.S. companies will explore when they participate in the Semicon,” Reddy said. He argued that international firms were particularly interested after India developed the necessary infrastructure for such plants. He said developing a strong semiconductor ecosystem is critical for India’s economic growth, and that the government is supporting this industry by having various incentives and schemes to attract global players.
The involvement of major companies like Micron and Tata Electronics just demonstrates the potential and readiness of India to become a key player in the global semiconductor market, Reddy said, predicting substantial growth in the coming years.
“The SEMICON India summit will be a platform to showcase India’s capabilities and attract further investment in the semiconductor sector,” he said.
