In a bid to make India a centre for electronics, the Union Cabinet approved a Rs 76,000 crore Product-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for semiconductor and display manufacturing on Wednesday.
The development was announced by I&B Minister Anurag Thakur during a press conference in New Delhi.
Over the next six years, India will create over 20 semiconductor design, component manufacturing, and display fabrication (fab) units under this programme.
The minister added that incentives worth Rs 2.3 lakh crore would be granted. This sector will be boosted by the launch of the 'India Semiconductor Mission'.
The approval comes almost a year after the government sought expressions of interest from firms in this matter.
The ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY) will now work out the finer details and issue invite applications.
Objectives
Apart from major corporations, the government will strive to encourage startups to design and manufacture semiconductors as part of the scheme. According to media sources, investments worth
Rs 1.7 lakh crore are anticipated to materialise.
Currently, the government's goal includes one to two fab units for displays, as well as ten units each for designing and manufacturing components.
It is expected to have a significant transformative impact, with the government estimating that the overall initiative will create 35,000 high-quality jobs and indirect employment for one
lakh others.
A major scarcity of semiconductor chips is currently affecting the global industry, causing production processes to go haywire and costs to skyrocket.
Use of semiconductor chips
Semiconductor chips are widely used in a variety of products, from cars to cell phones. Their supply has been badly disrupted in recent years due to a variety of factors, triggering a crisis
in a range of industries, including automobiles and gadgets.
Apart from these, semiconductors are required in a number of common devices, including televisions, laptops and even washing machines.