28 May 2024

What’s Stopping India’s Semiconductor Mission

Mohit Pandey

Setting up a single semiconductor manufacturing foundry requires massive investments, usually running up to $3 to $4 billion. To compare it with current investments, Micron is pumping in $825 million to set up its packaging facility.

“Given our infrastructure and the lack of ecosystem for semiconductor supplies, companies hesitate to venture into this field in India. A semiconductor foundry also requires many auxiliary industries such as semiconductor grade gases and chemical supplies, which are not present in India” said BITS Pilani Campuses group vice-chancellor Professor V Ramgopal Rao, in an interview with AIM.

The Indian government has been very clear and focussed about its semiconductor mission, which was launched in 2021. Currently, India is the second largest importer of semiconductor chips globally after a 92% increase in chip imports in the last three years.

Rao said that investing so much in a country where the infrastructure is not up to the global standards is a challenge for big companies.

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