What are Semiconductors?
- Semiconductors or chipsets are used in all modern electronic devices and technologies, with a range of applications that range from electronic products and IT hardware to defense technology, industrial electronics, medical electronics, and automation (workplace, healthcare, manufacturing, etc.)
- Such devices have found wide application because of their compactness, reliability, power efficiency, and low cost.
- As discrete components, they have found use in power devices, optical sensors, and light emitters, including solid-state lasers.
Semicon India Programme
- The Union Cabinet had approved the comprehensive Semicon India programme with a financial outlay of INR 76,000 crore for the development of a sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in 2021.
- It is a program under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY)
- It has been set up as an Independent Business Division within Digital India Corporation having administrative and financial autonomy to formulate and drive India’s long-term strategies for developing semiconductors and display manufacturing facilities and semiconductor design ecosystem.
- The Semicon India Program aims to provide attractive incentive support to companies/consortia that are engaged in Silicon Semiconductor Fabs, Display Fabs, Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors (including MEMS) Fabs, Semiconductor Packaging (ATMP / OSAT) and Semiconductor Design.
- Semicon India programme will serve to pave the way for India’s growing presence in the global electronics value chains.
- The program will give an impetus to semiconductor and display manufacturing by facilitating capital support and technological collaborations.
Broad Components of Semicon India Programme:
- Semiconductor Fabs and Display Fabs: The Scheme for Setting up Semiconductor Fabs and Display Fabs in India shall extend fiscal support of up to 50% of project cost on a pari-passu basis to applicants who are found eligible and have the technology as well as the capacity to execute such highly capital intensive and resource incentive projects.
- It provides fiscal support to eligible applicants for setting up Semiconductor Fabs which is aimed at attracting large investments for setting up semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities in the country.
- Semi-conductor Laboratory (SCL): The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will take requisite steps for the modernization and commercialization of the Semi-conductor Laboratory (SCL).
- Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors (including MEMS) Fabs and Semiconductor ATMP / OSAT Units: The Scheme for Setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors (including MEMS) Fabs and Semiconductor ATMP / OSAT facilities in India shall extend fiscal support of 30% of capital expenditure to approved units.
- Semiconductor Design Companies: Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme offers financial incentives, design infrastructure support across various stages of development and deployment of semiconductor design for Integrated Circuits (ICs), Chipsets, System on Chips (SoCs), Systems & IP Cores and semiconductor linked design.
- The scheme provides a “Product Design Linked Incentive” of up to 50% of the eligible expenditure subject to a ceiling of? 15 Crore per application and “Deployment Linked Incentive” of 6% to 4% of net sales turnover over 5 years subject to a ceiling of? 30 Crore per application.
- ‘Chips to start-ups’ program:
- The “chips to start-ups” program would develop 85,000 well-trained engineers.
- Semiconductor designers would be given the opportunity to launch start-ups.
Significance
- In the current geopolitical scenario, trusted sources of semiconductors and displays hold strategic importance and are key to the security of critical information infrastructure.
- India imports 100 % of its chips from Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Vietnam, so do other countries in the world.
- The supply has been disrupted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many production centers to close intermittently.
- The development of the semiconductor and display ecosystem will have a multiplier effect across different sectors of the economy with deeper integration into the global value chain.
- The program will promote higher domestic value addition in electronics manufacturing and will contribute significantly to achieving a USD 1 Trillion digital economy and a USD 5 Trillion GDP by 2025.
- The approved program will propel innovation and build domestic capacities to ensure the digital sovereignty of India.
- It will also create highly skilled employment opportunities to harness the demographic dividend of the country.
- The approved programme will propel innovation and build domestic capacities to ensure the digital sovereignty of India.
