Hope to approve two high-quality semiconductor chip fabrication proposals in 12 months: Ashwini Vaishnaw

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

semiconductor policy has taken care of talent and design capabilities to ensure that it stays ahead of the chip-making plans other countries have drawn up, union minister for electronics and information technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said. In an interview with Aashish Aryan on the sidelines of the Semicon India 2023 conference in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, he said the India Semiconductor Mission will ensure that companies willing to set up shop in India do so as a natural business decision, not just on geopolitical and supply chain considerations.

Edited Excerpts:How soon can we expect a chip manufacturing plant to be approved? We can say that in the coming 12 months we should be able to approve two high-quality semiconductor chip fabrication proposals. India today is a very, very interesting geography.

The transparency, including getting experts to run the India Semiconductor Mission, neutralised any negative impact that could have been on our relations with other countries. We are trying to create an environment where companies should feel naturally that they should come to India and not just because of geopolitical or supply chain considerations.Also read | Vedanta to roll out first made-in-India chips within 2.5 years: group chairman Anil AgarwalWhat will set India apart from others who failed in their attempts to build a semiconductor ecosystem? The advice we got from the industry was that many countries could not really grow beyond a point because they never focused on talent or design capabilities.

That is why, right from day one in the programme, we have design as a major part. This is what really differentiates our policy from other countries’ policies.How will the semiconductor industry spawn growth of other industries