New Delhi, Dec 15 (FN Agency) The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved Rs 76,000 crore scheme for developing semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country. The decision has come amid global shortage of chips affecting the manufacturing sector. The Indian car industry has been among the worst-affected by the chip shortage and have been grappling with the challenge of meeting the demand. The mega semi-conductor project is expected to deepen India’s integration with global value chain and have multiplier effect across various sectors. As per the plan, a minimum of 20 chip-manufacturing units would be set up in the next 2 years.
Elaborating on the plan to make India a global chip manufacturing hub, Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the government has also envisaged to create a talent pool of highly-qualified engineers over the coming years. Accordingly, a chips to start-ups (C2S) plan has been approved. A design-linked incentives (DLI) has been approved by the government under which 50% of the design related expenditure would be borne by the Government of India. The Programme for Development of Semiconductors and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem is expected to significantly contribute to achieving US$ 1 trillion digital economy and a US$ 5 trillion GDP by 2025. Vaishnaw said that in the last seven years the electronics manufacturing industry in the country has reached US$ 75 billion. “…and the rate at which we are moving we would reach the figure of US$ 300 billion in the next six years,” he said. In a move to further boost fintech sector, the Cabinet also cleared an incentive scheme for promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions.