Semiconductor Chips

The government has agreed to extend the PLI (Production-Linked Incentive) scheme with a budgeted incentive of Rs 76,000 crore for the next six years to stimulate semiconductor production in India. There are many Semiconductor companies.

The plan aims to provide financial assistance of up to 50% of the project cost to companies interested in establishing India’s display and semiconductor manufacturing facilities.

Semiconductor chips are the brains and hearts of all modern electronics and information and communications technology goods, modern automobiles, household appliances like refrigerators, and medical devices like ECG monitors. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, and self-driving cars cannot progress without a quick and inexpensive semiconductor sector.

Push for Semiconductor Manufacturing:

The goal is to make India a global centre for electronic system design and manufacturing by developing a sustainable semiconductor manufacturing and display ecosystem.

The initiative will provide financial assistance of up to 50% of the project cost for establishing semiconductor and display fabrication units.

Collaboration: The Centre would collaborate with the states to establish high-tech clusters with the requisite infrastructure, such as land and semiconductor-grade water.

India Semiconductor Mission: An independent and specialised “India Semiconductor Mission” will be established. It will serve as a focal point for the efficient and smooth execution of semiconductor and display ecosystem strategies.

Program “Chips to Startups” would produce 85,000 highly skilled engineers. Semiconductor designers would be able to start their businesses.

Semiconductor Companies:

1. Saankhya Labs
2. MosChip Semiconductor Technologies
3. NXP Semiconductors
4. Broadcom Inc

The context for Semiconductor Industry :

The Union Cabinet has authorised a comprehensive plan for the country’s development of a sustainable semiconductor industry and display ecosystem.

The scheme, which has a budget of Rs.76,000 crore (10 billion US dollars), includes incentives for electronic components, sub-assemblies, and finished goods.

The Indian government has pledged a total of Rs. 2,30,000 crore (USD 30 billion) to help India establish itself as a global centre for electronics production, with semiconductors serving as the foundational building block.

The Sector’s Importance

Automobiles’ powertrain, chassis, safety systems, advanced driver assistance systems, and other components use semiconductor chips. Compared to commercial vehicles or two-wheelers, they are more commonly employed in passenger vehicles. Chip demand has surged as more people switch to electric automobiles. A Ford Focus, for example, has about 300 chips, whereas one of Ford’s upcoming electric vehicles has up to 3,000 chips. The declining supply of semiconductor chips in semiconductor companies harms the vehicle industry’s manufacturing.

Semiconductor and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem Development Program

By offering a globally competitive incentive package to enterprises in semiconductors and display manufacturing and design, the initiative will usher in a new era in electronics manufacturing.

Make way for India’s technical leadership and economic self-sufficiency in these crucial areas.

Semiconductors and screens are the cornerstones of modern electronics, driving Industry 4.0’s next phase of the digital revolution.

Semiconductors and display production is a highly complex and technologically intensive industry with large capital inputs, high risk, long gestation and payback periods, and rapid technological advances requiring considerable and long-term investments.

Facilitate monetary support and technology cooperation to boost semiconductor and display manufacturing.

Shortage of Semiconductors

There was a global shortage of semiconductor chips, which affected India’s small and medium-sized companies (SME) sector for semiconductor companies. Increased Covid-19 instances in providing nations, particularly in Asia, resulted in production interruption (factory closures), resulting in the current scarcity. A severe winter storm in Texas forced the closure of semiconductor plants, and a fire at a plant in Japan prompted similar delays. Substrate manufacturing’s low margins have also led to underinvestment, exacerbating the misery of a global chip scarcity. Chips are connected to the circuit boards that hold them in computers and other devices by substrates. Substrates, which are made of thin copper wire sandwiched between two layers of resin, aid in the transmission of user commands to a computer.

Conclusion:

Fab Semiconductor manufacturing (semiconductor fabrication plant)—It’s critical to lock in demand for semiconductors made in the country to develop the ecosystem for fab manufacturing. Come up with innovative ideas to ensure that the semiconductors produced in the country are utilised locally. Develop raw material supply capabilities– This will benefit the Indian gas, materials, and mining industries and the semiconductor equipment, spares, and service industries.

Analysts say the move might help establish the country as a global hub for electronics goods, create jobs and draw investments from leading corporations worldwide when the entire world is experiencing a shortage of semiconductor chips.