India Semiconductor Mission

India Semiconductor Mission

News: Recently, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology has inaugurated the first ever Semicon India 2022 Conference under India Semiconductor Mission in Bengaluru.

What are semiconductors?
• Semiconductors, sometimes referred to as integrated circuits (ICs) or microchips, are made from pure elements, typically silicon or germanium, or compounds such as gallium arsenide.
• Semiconductors are an essential component of electronic devices, enabling advances in communications, computing, healthcare, military systems, transportation, clean energy, and countless other applications.
• In a process called doping, small amounts of impurities are added to these pure elements, causing large changes in the conductivity of the material.

India Semiconductor Mission:
• The ISM was launched in 2021 with a total financial outlay of Rs76,000 crore under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY).
• It is part of the comprehensive program for the development of sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in the country.
• The programme aims to provide financial support to companies investing in semiconductors, display manufacturing and design ecosystem.
• Envisioned to be led by global experts in the Semiconductor and Display industry, ISM will serve as the nodal agency for efficient, coherent and smooth implementation of the schemes.

Components of the Scheme:
• It provides fiscal support to eligible applicants for setting up of Semiconductor Fabs which is aimed at attracting large investments for setting up semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities in the country.
• It provides fiscal support to eligible applicants for setting up of Display Fabs which is aimed at attracting large investments for setting up TFT LCD / AMOLED based display fabrication facilities in the country.
• The Scheme provides a fiscal support of 30% of the Capital Expenditure to the eligible applicants for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics (SiPh) / Sensors (including MEMS) Fab and Semiconductor ATMP / OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) facilities in India.
• It 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.

Significance:
• ISM is of paramount importance to organize efforts for promoting semiconductors and display industry in a more structured, focused, and comprehensive manner.
• It will facilitate the adoption of trusted electronics through secure semiconductors and display supply chains, including raw materials, specialty chemicals, gasses, and manufacturing equipment.
• It will enable a multi-fold growth of Indian semiconductor design industry by providing requisite support in the form of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools, foundry services and other suitable mechanisms for early-stage startups.
• It will also promote and facilitate indigenous Intellectual Property (IP) generation and encourage, enable and incentivize Transfer of Technologies (ToT).
• ISM will enable collaborations and partnership programs with national and international agencies, industries and institutions for catalyzing collaborative research, commercialization and skill development.

Why does the industry matter?
• Semiconductor is the heart of modern economics. Without them, there would be no smartphones, radios, TVs, laptops, computers and advance medical equipment.
• Fabrication of electronic devices is done through semiconductors.
• The emergence of e-vehicles shall help increase demand of semiconductors.
• They are used in solar technology, 3D printing machines, temperature sensors which are used in air conditioners are made with semiconductor devices.

Way Forward:
• India’s own consumption of semiconductors is expected to cross USD 80 billion by 2026 and to USD 110 billion by 2030.
• The industry is dominated by the USA, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Netherlands. Thus, there are fewer countries in this segment. It might be a good idea for India to get on the bus early.