“Team India has to succeed for us to be building that $1 trillion digital economy”

Rajeev Chandrasekhar Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in conversation with Samir Saran at the recently concluded CyFy.

On Semiconductor and Chip Opportunities and initiatives over the last few years.

I talked about semiconductor and electronics as a post COVID Supply Chain linked opportunity. And I think it was, it was in that context that we looked at that opportunity with the Honourable Prime Minister, then in December 2021.

We announced a $10 billion package for the semiconductor ecosystem. We’ve made considerable progress in the electronics microelectronics space since then and since 2014.

So just to give you a small summary of where we are, and it’s a good way to compare the journey that India has had in electronics, and then therefore, how it’s positioned itself for semiconductors.

In 2014, when Hon. Narendra Modi ji became our Prime Minister over 92% of all mobile phones and mobile devices consumed in India, were imported. In 2022, seven and a half years later, if you count the COVID years in between and over 97% of the mobile devices consumed in India are manufactured in India.

In 2014, we exported little or nothing and today we export over $12 billion dollars of electronics devices. With that confidence and clearly post COVID there is a desire amongst the world’s consuming nations to diversify away from the concentration of the electronics value chains.

That was very clearly embedded around one country for a large part of the last decade. That diversification has led to tremendous opportunities in electronics both downstream and upstream.

We have progressed considerably in semiconductors, we have launched a program where we will have a large number of startups that are focused on the future of design, the next generation of devices that will go into the electronics products, we expect the code to be designed in India, by Indian startups and or designed solely by Indian startups.

On the other end of the spectrum, we expect over the next 18 to 24 months for the ground-breaking on at least one or two fabs and at least one or two packaging units in some parts of India.

On the human talent and to be the hub that innovates and creates

We have progressed considerably. We have a blueprint in terms of semiconductor research, we have semiconductor design, manufacture, and the entire ecosystem of other talent that is required to sustain a semiconductor ecosystem. We have not just a blueprint, but we have in a sense, taken an all of government approach in terms of integrating the higher education system, centres of excellence, other prototyping units, and working closely with the big multinational companies that are headquartered in places like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai. We are partnering with them to develop a talent strategy. I have no hesitation in saying that we will be not just a hub of talent for the India semiconductor ecosystem but also to a large extent be a partner for global nations and enterprises as well.

On the recent meeting with all the IT ministers of the various states of the country

The headline to all the IT ministers of all states was that the Indian digital economy is dramatically expanding and diversifying from the two decade old narrative of tech services. The Indian digital economy story was built around these tech services companies not just BPOs. But technology solutions, companies like Wipro, Infosys, HCL etc.

They’ve done a magnificent job for the country and have created significant wealth and employment and opportunities of investment.

The last two years, the tech services business has averaged about at 18- 19% compounded growth. But there are new layers that are now emerging. The startup and innovation economy, the digital service providers, which is the 5G, ISPs the pipeline to the Internet. Then you have the electronics manufacturing piece of the economy, which like I said, 70% of the FDI in electronics has happened in the last three and a half years.

There is this whole emerging tech area of semiconductor design, AI blockchain all of these areas of deep tech innovation, that will also spawn a lot of digital economic activity.

I want the States to wake up to these new opportunities. Team India has to succeed for us to be building that $1 trillion digital economy. A goal set by the Prime Minister.

A classic example is how Gujarat moved on the semiconductor opportunity. The government of India laid out of incentive package of 50%, financial support and Gujarat clinched the first deal by saying that for the balance 50%, they will do a 40% subsidy.

On digital platforms and social media apps

For a long time governments of the world lagged the private sector in the way they looked at the Internet. And there was a certain utopian sense in governments around the world that the Internet should be left open. The government’s role, the state’s role should be limited. There’s really no need for governments to intervene.

But we know now that as much as it represents a force for good it also represents significant examples of user harm. Misusing the Internet to create misinformation and public incitement, the dark web etc. There is a whole spectrum of problematic issues that have come up. So for us, the Internet’s safety and trust is an absolute, almost like a fundamental duty of the government to its citizens. We’ve argued that open societies, democratic countries must come to a coalition of agreements around this boundary. In my interactions with the ministers of UK and the US and administrative officials of US, Australia, Singapore, there is now a growing realization that democratic countries must work together in shaping the future of the Internet. Shaping the future of technology in general. And there have to be some agreed to principles.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology and Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship

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