Sansad TV Perspective: Semiconductor Industry & India

In the series Sansad TV Perspective, we bring you an analysis of the discussion featured on the insightful programme ‘Perspective’ on Sansad TV, on various important topics affecting India and also the world. This analysis will help you immensely for the IAS exam, especially the mains exam, where a well-rounded understanding of topics is a prerequisite for writing answers that fetch good marks.

In this article, we feature the discussion on the topic:  Semiconductor Industry & India

Anchor: Vishal Dahiya

Participants: 

1. Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Former Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Govt. of India
2. Subhomoy Bhattacharjee, Consulting Editor, Business Standard
3. Hari Om Rai, Chairman & Managing Director, Lava International Ltd

Context: Semiconductors are of enormous essence to all spheres of the economy and are always on the side of high demand. The global chip shortage with emerging demands for critical components has stagnated growth and job creation in the economy. 

Overview of the Situation:

• The disruption in the global supply chain of semiconductors has given rise to the need for increasing domestic manufacturing capacity. 
• India, in alignment with such a need, is aiming to become the global hub for semiconductor design, manufacturing and technology development. 
• India has already harboured most of the global semiconductor design companies along with the innovation centres for research and development. 
• In a landmark initiative, the Government of India has sanctioned a considerable sum of Rs 76,000 crore under the Production Linked Incentive scheme (PLI) to augment the manufacturing of various semiconductor goods within India. 

Exploring Semiconductors:

• Semiconductors are integral components of electronic devices which facilitate communications, computing, healthcare, military systems, transportation, clean energy and multiple other applications. 
• They are sometimes referred to as integrated circuits (IC) or microchips which are usually made up of silicon or germanium or compounds like gallium arsenide. 
• It is often said that semiconductors are considered a modern marvel with intangible engineering. 
• There are two stages involved in the production of semiconductors: Design and Manufacturing. The companies that focus only on design are known as “fabless” firms and the firms that focus only on manufacturing are known as “foundries”.
• Semiconductors are used in smartphones, radios, TVs, computers, video games, and advanced medical diagnostic equipment.

Significance of Semiconductor Industry:

• It is said that data will be the fuel for the global economy, driving the revolution of digital technology and semiconductors are at the forefront of it. 
• The semiconductor industry is projected to be worth $1 trillion by 2030 and the data economy could be the driving force. This global estimate has been put forth by considering several macroeconomic assumptions. 
• Memory and storage are leading the semiconductor industry bringing together bright minds to reap the benefits. 
• India is at the inflection point for the global semiconductor industry to gear up with its science and engineering potential as India is already a digital powerhouse.

Objective of the Government of India’s Semiconductor Programme: 

• The Government of India aims at making the country a global hub for electronics manufacturing, exerting special emphasis on semiconductors.
• The government has committed support of Rs. 2,30,000 crore to encourage the development of the semiconductor industry.

Effective Government Policies to Improve Manufacturing in India:

1. Make in India
2. National Policy for Advanced Manufacturing:
   1. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade took an initiative to create a qualitative and quantitative change in the manufacturing sector with an ambitious target of increasing the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25% resulting in job creation. 
   2. This policy is based on the principle of industrial growth in partnership with states. 
   3. Read more about National Manufacturing Policy in the linked article.
3. The Production Linked Incentive:
   1. The scheme offers a massive impetus to encourage the establishment of manufacturing companies and promote the indigenous production of semiconductors.
   2. This aims to transform India into a global hub for Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM).
4. The India Electronics and Semiconductor Association has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Semiconductor Industry Association which represents the chip industry in the US to identify potential areas of collaboration between the two countries. This intends to embolden the country’s semiconductor ecosystem. 
5. A DST-INSPIRE fellow of Jadavpur University, Kolkata is working on doping techniques for monolayer and bilayer 2D semiconductors which are expected to revolutionise the future of 2D electronics devices optimization.     
   1. About the Study:
      1. The current study is a possible solution to the existing shortfalls of silicon technology in the transistors, which has reached its limit.
      2. The unique study of 2D semiconductors is based on the oxide doping techniques for monolayer (1L) and bilayer (2L) which are stable, and compatible along with high device performance. 
      3. The theoretical aspect of fundamental insight of the substitutional doping in 2D materials has been touched upon along with doping enhancement using strain engineering and the effect of stacking order on metal/2D semiconductor contact that can assist in device optimization in the future. 
      4. The 2L semiconductors are essential for next-generation electronic device applications because of their high degree of freedom such as stacking order. 
      5. A study on the bilayer (2L) molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2) confirmed that the choice of stacking order is crucial for the optimization of devices which is based on 2L transition metal dichalcogenides (a new form of 2D nanosheets). 
      6. It has been ascertained that the dopant formation energy (Eform) is a critical parameter that influences the doping concentration. 
      7. Efforts have been made to increase the doping concentration by the application of mechanical strain in transition metals like tungsten diselenide monolayer.
      8. As the Government of India is pitching in for the growth of the semiconductor industry, this research work can contribute phenomenally to the progress of the semiconductors sector in India. 
      9. 

         Image source: www.opli.net

6. The Government of India launched the Digital RISC-V (DIR-V) program setting a new era of processor innovation through open standard collaboration. 
   1. Aim of the programme: 
      1. The digital India RISC-V microprocessor (DIR – V) intends to enable the production of microprocessors in India in the upcoming days achieving industry-grade silicon and design wins by December 2023. 
      2. The DIR-V programme will attract more partnerships between startups, academia and multinational companies upholding the objective to make India not only an RISC-V talent hub for the world but also a supplier of RISC-V systems on chips of servers, mobile devices, automotive and microcontrollers across the globe. 
      3. The intention behind this programme also includes the aspiration of having a roadmap for semiconductor design and innovation to boost the semiconductor ecosystem. 

Challenges:

• India has recently witnessed a chip shortage which is also referred to as the chip crunch which affected the production in the electronics and automobile sector.
• The shortage of chips has reflected the weakness of India in the global supply chain of electronics. 
• About 40% of India’s demand pertaining to electronic components depends on imports from China and over the past few years, India shares geopolitical issues with China. It is a big challenge for India to reduce its dependence on China for electronic components. 
• Inadequate Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and contract enforcement create an obstacle for foreign companies to collaborate with India.
• The fabrication plants are capital intensive because of the changing innovations in manufacturing. There is a lack of capital flow in the manufacturing of semiconductors. 
• Lack of uninterrupted power and water supply.
• Hazardous impact on the environment by the semiconductor industry may act as an impediment to India’s commitment to mitigate climate change. 
• According to the experts, the need to have more indigenous firms in the semiconductor industry has not been addressed by the government.

A doorway to the future:

• The intentions of the policies pertaining to digital transformation must ensure to make the country a trusted partner in terms of digital broadband services and talent, adhering to the principal focus of the India Semiconductor Mission. 
• From the traditional spinning wheel to the chip, the Indian subcontinent has evolved with time and reached the era of aspiring to become Atmanirbhar or self-reliant.
• Multiple scopes lie to make India a leader in chip design through skill programmes, using supercomputers and engaging with more applications. The government has been actively involved in introducing more startups or companies to promote the semiconductor industry which is envisaged to go a long way. 
• It is suggested by the experts that there is a need for India to expand its position in the semiconductor sector by collaborating with tech companies, scaling up the infrastructure and upgrading the skills of the individuals along with flexible business regulations and ease of trade. This will open up avenues for the semiconductor industry to flourish attracting green-field talent. 
• Therefore, the government must work towards making the people equipped with globally competitive skills by building globally competent companies in India. This will enable a capturing of value mechanism that will sustain the semiconductor industry in the long run. 

Read about Semiconductor Shortage in the linked article.

Read more summaries of Perspective in the link.

Sansad TV Perspective: Semiconductor Sector in India:- Download PDF Here