Government approves policy to make India hub of global semiconductor and display maker manufacturing

Tags: National News

• The government has approved a Rs 76,000 crore incentive plan to establish chip and display industries in India as it seeks to become an electronics manufacturing hub and cut reliance on supplies from China, which is the largest supplier of semiconductor chips in the world.

Highlights of the policy 

• The production-linked incentives (PLI) will be offered to companies over six years. It expects to attract investments worth ₹1.70 trillion for more than 20 units.
• Two chipmakers and two display manufacturers are expected to set up units in the next four years under the plan, and each of them will invest ₹30,000-50,000 crore. Further, 20 companies, including chip packaging firms and compound semiconductor companies that make chips for the automotive sector, power equipment, etc., are expected to be operational in three years, with investments in the range of ₹3,000-5,000 crore.
• Under the scheme, the government will extend financial support of up to 50% of the project cost to firms selected to set up semiconductor and display fabs in India. It will also work closely with states to establish high-tech clusters with requisite infrastructure such as land, semiconductor-grade water, high-quality power, logistics and research ecosystems to house the fabs.
• The scheme will generate 35,000 direct and 100,000 indirect jobs,
• The government hopes the incentive plan will facilitate the production of critical components used in automobiles and mobile phones locally. In addition, incentives provided under the scheme will help design, fabricate, pack and test the semiconductor chips and develop a complete ecosystem.
• India seeks to reshape supply chains to cut its reliance on China amid a global chip shortage that has impacted the production of goods ranging from cars to computers.