Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw has applauded the “superb” response from the semiconductor industry in India for the initiatives taken by the government for the sector by introducing new schemes. The minister was speaking at the IT industry grouping Nasscom’s strategic review press conference where he encouraged the semiconductor industry in India to “double down” on its efforts.
The Need for Financial Support
For those unaware, back in December, the Union Cabinet had sanctioned Rs 76,000 crore incentive plan for semiconductor fabricators and display manufacturers. The approval of this Product-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme was given to encourage corporates to start manufacturing in India, making India a global electronics production hub. The PLI scheme was aimed at providing capital support and product-related incentives to the industry. The decision was taken by the government keeping in mind the growing challenges faced by the country such as dependency on countries like China for imports, disruptions in the supply chain as well a sudden surge in demand for semiconductors during the pandemic. According to the report from PTI, yesterday, the Indian multinational mining company Vedanta announced an agreement with contract manufacturer Foxconn related to the production of the semiconductors. It is very likely that comments from the union minister come in the light of this pact. Earlier, Tata Group has also demonstrated interest in the area. Vaishnav said in a statement that he is elated with the positive response received from the semiconductor industry in such a short span of time. The minister further added that display fabrication, compound semiconductors and design ecosystem are bound to create quality and numerous employment opportunities in the country and he is pleased with the “excellent” response from the industry. He urged the industry participants to double down on their efforts and come up with more new ideas and suggestions. The schemes introduced by the government has come as a boon to the semiconductor and display ecosystem in the country. Robust financial support would augment the capabilities of the Indian manufacturers, making them globally competitive to attract investments. Vaishnaw also applauded the IT industry which witnessed the addition of 4.5 lakh new people in FY22 taking the direct employment numbers to 50 lakhs.
