Indian Semiconductor Mission : Centre invites more companies to set up units  

                     Semiconductors are used in electronic devices like mobile phones, laptops, television , refrigerators, digital cameras, washing machines and LED bulbs. A semiconductor chip is an electric circuit that contains transistors and wiring formed on a semiconductor wafer. Today it is an essential part in the everyday life of man and are in high demand across the world. India imports most of its semiconductors from China, United States, Japan. India is the second largest importer of semiconductor in the world. Semiconductor market has great opportunities to offer its manufacturers and is called as the ' brain ' of modern electronics by some and 'heart' of modern electronics by some others. Also the rise in OTT content and the work from home concept after covid has increased the demand for electronic devices made of semiconductors. Also with the coming of 5G , the semiconductor consumption has increased all over especially in India . When compared with the global market, the size of the the Indian semiconductor market is small as it imports most of the semiconductors. China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Korea are the major suppliers of semiconductor in the world. Since it is a capital intensive industry and needs reliable access to power and water, which was not adequately available before, led to the import of semiconductors by India earlier. 

                    But now India is moving into self reliance realizing the importance of semiconductors and understanding their high demand has decided to move into chip making with localised manufacturing. The  Government of India has launched a comprehensive programme for the development of a sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem. The ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in December 2021 notified four new schemes to reduce India's dependency on imports and build an ecosystem for the production of semiconductors. The programme has made India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), the nodal agency which will instil confidence in investors.

                   As the government of India has come forward with such an initiative of Make In India of semiconductors, it has received various proposals for new investments to set up electronic chipboard display manufacturing plants. One of the major investor Vedanta Foxconn Joint venture, IGSS ventures and ISMC(International Semiconductor Consortium) have come forward to set up electronic chip manufacturing plants. Also the officials of India government are having meeting with representatives of copper, aluminium, water and gases industries to explore their needs for establishing units near the semiconductor manufacturing units. The semiconductor manufacturing process requires around 1200 different types of raw materials. The government is inviting these firms to set up plants in India near semiconductor plants to promote chip manufacturing in India rather than importing these raw materials. This will also help to lessen any disruptions in the global supply chains. Except some rare earth minerals which need to be imported, others can be produced within the country. This would give a support to the $10 billion package of central government to stimulate semiconductor production in India. Also the state governments , where these units will be placed, are providing additional incentives, bringing the total value of subsidies and incentives to around 70-75 percent of the overall project cost.

                  The semiconductor technology has now become an essential part of the world as it has enabled researchers to develop bomb detectors to smart glasses and has impact on data centres, smart homes and cities to high speed networks and the automotive industry. Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things have sparked a new wave of innovation in the semiconductor industry, along with the launch of 5G networks recently. Thus semiconductor market has great opportunities to offer for their manufacturers.