Semiconductors lie at the heart of electronic products and advanced technologies like 5G. In December 2021, the Union Cabinet approved INR 76,000 crores under the ‘India Semiconductor Mission’ which is fungible across different schemes. This was followed by a modified programme to provide financial support to companies investing in semiconductors, display manufacturing and design ecosystem to curb heavy dependence on import of semiconductors. In the 2023-2024 Union Budget, INR 3000 crores has been allocated for the India Semiconductor Mission out of which INR 1,799 crore has been allocated for the modified scheme for setting up compound semiconductors, silicon photonics, sensors fab, discrete semiconductors fab and semiconductor assembly, testing, marking and packaging, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test facilities in India. Also, INR 1,000 crore has been allocated for the modified scheme for setting up of semiconductor fabs in India, while INR 4 lakh has been allocated for the scheme to set up display fabrication units in India.
Towards the objective of making India self-sufficient in semiconductor manufacturing, the central government had regulated the import of telecom equipment, that are heavily dependent on semiconductors, by introducing the ‘trusted sources’ approval mechanism to regulate the use of equipment through sources that are designated as ‘trusted’, with onerous approval process. It is believed that this way, focus will move towards manufacturing locally and imports will reduce from China.
Please click here to read the full article by Radhika Gupta, published in Mondaq.
Radhika specialises in the telecom and Information Technology sector. She has extensive experience advising on telecom regulatory issues, licensing arrangements, telecom restructuring, information technology laws, laws governing telecom spectrum allocation, compliances applicable to manufacturing and deployment of telecom equipment and the legal policy on satellite communications in India.