India’s semicon consumption expected to cross $80 bn by 2026: PM

Bengaluru, April 29 (FN Agency) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India’s own consumption of semi-conductors is expected to cross 80 billion dollars by 2026 and 110 billion dollars by 2030. “India is headed for robust economic growth. We have the world’s fastest growing startup eco-system. New unicorns are coming up every few weeks. India’s own consumption of semi-conductors is expected to cross 80 billion dollars by 2026 and 110 billion dollars by 2030,” he said listing out one of the six reasons for India being an attractive investment destination for semiconductor technologies. He made these remarks at the inauguration of Semicon India Conference virtually. Listing other five reasons, the Prime Minister said India is building the digital infrastructure to connect over 1.3 billion Indians.

“You have all heard of India’s financial inclusion, banking and digital payment revolution. UPI is the world’s most efficient payment infrastructure today. We are using digital technology to transform lives in all sectors of governance from health and welfare,” he said. Modi also said that the country is on its way to connect six lakh villages with broadband and is investing in developing capabilities in 5G, IoT and clean energy technologies. “We are working to unleash the next wave of innovation in data, AI and other technologies,” he added. The Central government has also undertaken wide-ranging reforms for improving ease of doing business in India, said the Prime Minister.

Last year, the Centre abolished more than 25,000 compliances and gave a push towards auto-renewal of licences, he added. “Similarly, digitisation is also bringing speed and transparency to the regulatory framework. Today, we have one of the most favourable taxation structures in the world,” he said. India is investing heavily in skilling and training young Indians for the needs of 21st century and also has an exceptional semi-conductor design talent pool, which makes up to 20 per cent of the world’s semi-conductor design engineers, Modi said. Almost all of the top 25 semi-conductor design companies have their design or R&D centers in India, he added. India also has undertaken several measures towards transforming the Indian manufacturing sector, Modi said.

At a time when humanity was fighting a once in a century pandemic, India was not only improving the health of people in the country, but also the health of the Indian economy, the Prime Minister further said. He also said that over the next five years, the electronics manufacturing sector is expected to see record growth. “We recently announced the Semicon India Programme with a total outlay of over 10 billion dollars, which aims to provide financial support to companies investing in semi-conductors, display manufacturing and design ecosystem,” he added. Modi assured the industry that the Indian government will continue to support the industry in future as well. “We have taken care to see that Semicon India programme addresses various parts of the eco-system, such as semi-conductor fab, display fab, Design, Assembly, Test, Marking and Packaging of semi-conductors,” he added.