Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) Secretary S Krishnan has reportedly said that the union government is internally discussing plans for the rollout of the second phase of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM).
As per news agency PTI, Krishnan said that the Centre is ready with the outline of the next iteration of the Mission, adding that the government is also mulling “supporting” chip design projects in the country and semiconductor packaging designs.
“The next stage of ISM is in the works. We have had discussions, discussions with many of the stakeholders, including many amongst you, as to how to design the programme. The design and the outline is ready, and there’s undergoing detailed discussions internally in the government,” Krishnan reportedly said while addressing the IESA Vision Summit virtually.
The MeitY Secretary added that the second phase of ISM will also potentially offer support for gases and other elements needed for semiconductor production.
On the current status of the first phase of the Mission, which had a budgetary outlay of INR 76,000 Cr, Krishnan noted that INR 65,000 Cr was earmarked for chip manufacturing and packaging units while the remaining INR 10,000 Cr and INR 1,000 Cr were set aside for modernising the semiconductor lab at Mohali and the design-linked incentive scheme respectively.
“We have committed more than INR 60,000 Cr to the five major units which are currently under construction. In addition, we have a few more projects which are under evaluation and are expected to be awarded quickly ,” Krishnan reportedly added.
While underscoring the need for providing more support to ensure the homegrown fabless ecosystem work more efficiently, Krishnan also added that the Centre is re-thinking the design-linked-incentive scheme to support “more ambitious design-linked innovations and design initiatives in the country”.
“The design link incentive scheme is undergoing further changes to ensure that it is in a position to support more ambitious design-linked innovations and design initiatives in the country. In addition to designing the chips itself, there is also packaging design which needs to go alongside. We have to really look at how advanced packaging can be supported through the design link scheme as well,” the MeitY Secretary added.
This comes weeks after IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw asserted that the first “made-in-India” chip would be rolled out from a commercial fab by September or October 2025. At the time, he also said that budgetary allocation for the second edition of the mission would be decided after Cabinet approval.
At the heart of all this is the homegrown semiconductor market which, as per Inc42, is expected to become a $150 Bn opportunity by 2030.
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