"Very soon we'll see the first Made-in-India chip": Ashwini Vaishnaw

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 10 (ANI): Union Information and Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said that the country would witness the rollout of its first made-in-India chip "very soon" as six semiconductor plants are under construction in Gujarat, Assam and Uttar Pradesh.

Addressing the 'Next-Gen Mobility for a Next-Gen City' programme here, the IT Minister said, "Today there are six semiconductor plants under construction in our country and very soon we'll see the first made in India chip roll out of these factories."

Emphasising the government's resolve for the easy accessibility of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, he said, "AI is shaping our world today. Our Prime Minister's vision is of democratising technology. It should be accessible to all. It should not be limited to a few. It should be available to all. That's why we have done the India AI mission in which 34,000 GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) are available today as a common compute facility for all our innovators."

"The price of these GPUs is just less than USD 1 per hour. And this is the most affordable common computer facility in the entire world," the Minister added. 

Speaking at the same event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also emphasised India's priority to become "self-reliant" in the technology sector, stating that the country will soon have its "Made in India" chip as the semiconductor mission gains momentum.

PM stressed that the journey of "Viksit Bharat" will move forward hand in hand with the Digital India initiative. He noted that with the India AI Mission, the country is advancing towards global AI leadership. 

"Our next big priority should be becoming self-reliant in technology. The journey to a Viksit Bharat will move forward hand in hand with Digital India. Through initiatives like the India AI Mission, India is advancing toward global AI leadership. He added that the Semiconductor Mission is also gaining momentum, and India will soon have its own Made-in-India chip", PM Modi said. 

In May, the Union Cabinet approved India's sixth semiconductor manufacturing unit in Jewar in western Uttar Pradesh. It will be established near Jewar Airport through a joint venture between the HCL Group and Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn.

The sixth unit is expected to generate employment for around 2,000 people and will help significantly in strengthening India's semiconductor ecosystem. The unit at Jewar will have a 20,000 wafers per month capacity, and the chips will have 36 million (3.6 crore) per month.

Among other five semiconductor plants, four are in Gujarat: Tata Electronics–PSMC Semiconductor fab, CG Power–Renesas–Stars Microelectronics ATMP unit , Micron Technology’s ATMP unit and Kaynes Semicon ATMP unit, while the Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test (TSAT) Unit is in Assam.

In 2024, the Government of India launched a comprehensive initiative called the India AI Mission aimed at positioning India as a global hub for artificial intelligence (AI) research, innovation, and adoption. The mission focuses on developing AI solutions across key sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, education, smart cities, and infrastructure to drive socio-economic growth.

The strategy includes capacity building, development of research ecosystems, and partnerships between government, industry, and academia.

The government has also approved the Semicon India programme with a total outlay of Rs 76,000 crore for the development of a semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country.

On the other hand, to promote the semiconductor ecosystem, the central government, in June, introduced pioneering reforms in the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) rules. The reforms aim to address the specialised needs of the semiconductor and electronics component manufacturing sectors.

Since manufacturing in these sectors is highly capital-intensive, import-dependent and involves longer gestation periods before turning profitable, rule amendments have been carried out to promote pioneering investments and boost manufacturing in these high-technology sectors.

Going further, Vaishnaw informed that India has become the top supplier of smartphones to the United States, with electronics manufacturing now worth Rs 12 lakh crore.

He said that India's electronic production has grown six times in the last 11 years.

The Minister further pointed out the exponential rise in electronic exports, which have increased eightfold to reach 3 lakh crore rupees. Vaishnaw also noted India's position as the world's second-largest manufacturer of mobile phones, underscoring the country's expanding role in the global electronics market.

"Our electronic production has grown 6 times in the last 11 years. Today, electronics manufacturing has touched 12 lakh crore rupees. Electronic exports have increased by 8 times... Today, it has grown to 3 lakh crore rupees. India has become the second-largest manufacturer of mobile phones in the world" he said. 

According to official government data, India has made significant progress in mobile and electronics manufacturing, becoming the world's 2nd largest mobile manufacturing country. In 2014, India had only 2 mobile manufacturing units, but fast forward to today, the nation boasts over 300 manufacturing units, underscoring a significant expansion in this vital sector.

In 2014 -15 only 26 per cent of the mobile phones which were being sold in India were made in India, the rest were being imported. It is worth mentioning that today, 99.2 per cent of all mobile phones which are sold in India are made in India. The manufacturing value of mobile phones has surged from Rs 18,900 crore in FY14 to a staggering Rs 4,22,000 crore in FY24. (ANI)