Semicon India

India Rolls out Red Carpet to Semiconductor Corporate world
Semicon India 2024, held last week in Noida, was the third national-level gathering, bringing multiple
players onto the same platform to initiate and accelerate semiconductor growth in India. It was
jointly organized by Meity (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), India Semiconductor
Mission, and Digital India, in collaboration with SEMI. Since semiconductor manufacturing and
assembly are in their nascent phase in the country, they were an obvious emphasis in this year's
conference. Given the fact that the Prime Minister has inaugurated this annual expo for three years
in a row, it demonstrates how serious the government of India is about this growth. The icing on the
cake was the side/lunch meetings the PM had with semiconductor company leaders from around the
world.
India has proven its potential in semiconductor R&D. Many design houses have been setting up their
R&D centers in India since the year 2000. However, other stakeholders in the ecosystem didn't start
until 2022. So, naturally, the emphasis was on non-R&D stakeholders, such as manufacturing,
assembly and test, semiconductor equipment manufacturers, and material suppliers. This objective
was fully met by major participation from related companies, such as Micron, Tata Electronics, and
Applied Materials.
A key observation from the array of participants is that many Japanese, Taiwanese, and South Asian
companies had demos/stalls in the exhibit area. Many Indian states, even those normally less active
in this space, like Odisha and Tamil Nadu, had booths displaying their semiconductor policies, current
status, and future growth potential. This was exciting. Even more so because the need of the hour is
to spread this growth across India rather than limiting it to a few cities. If the growth is confined to 2-
3 cities, there will be no headroom for future expansion.
The conference was packed with workshops, exhibits, and several keynotes. As usual, many
announcements were made. Since the platform for these announcements was apolitical, we have
greater hope to see them transforming into reality in the future.
The Government of Uttar Pradesh announced the reservation of 1000 acres of land near the newly
proposed airport on the south side of Greater Noida. Due to its sheer size, population, and status as
the second-largest economy among Indian states, UP has massive potential to attract local
manpower. With several IITs, NITs, and hundreds of engineering institutions in the vicinity, this
semiconductor park could be a great success in the future.
NXP made a major announcement to invest $1 billion into additional R&D and double the headcount
in its India operations in the next few years. Its exhibit, especially the Software Defined Vehicle (SDV),
was a major draw. The top brass of NXP, including the CEO, participated and presented NXP's plans
and status. It was definitely a feel-good factor.
Living up to the theme of the event, Tata Electronics was a major crowd-puller. Randhir Thakur, CEO,
presented the robust roadmap of its plans in manufacturing and assembly. The first wafer out in
2026 is truly a landmark milestone to meet. As it is deemed necessary for non-compute, non-AI
semiconductor components, the company is rightly poised to focus on lower process nodes up to
28nm. Manufacturing in Gujarat and sending wafers to Karnataka and Assam for assembly will be
quite a logistical requirement, but then, many other design houses (e.g., TSMC, Intel) have
manufacturing and assembly in different facilities.
Arguably, semiconductor equipment manufacturing is the early step in the semiconductor ecosystem
hierarchy. The tools/machines that manufacture semiconductor components with minimum feature
sizes of 18A/20A are probably the most complex equipment in the contemporary high-tech world.
The equipment manufacturer, Applied Materials (AMAT), has announced a manufacturing plan in
Tamil Nadu, India. This would be a cornerstone in the country's semiconductor mission. In particular,
Dr. Nasreen Chopra's (VP, AMAT) emphasis on the need to build a net-zero semiconductor ecosystem
established the company's adherence to the commitment to reduce energy and emissions.
Of course, there were a few things that were missed in the event. Many multinational R&D houses
have set up design centers in India. Some of them have been doing design work in India since 1995.
Some have their largest R&D centers outside their headquarters countries. The latest generation
servers and client SOCs are being developed in India. The latest AI products on the latest processes
are being designed/co-designed in India. But these big players, which are known as the barometers
of the semiconductor world, didn't have much presence. India has achieved tremendous success in
pre-silicon R&D compared to manufacturing. It is understandable that the emphasis wasn't on pre-Si
R&D, but there is still a large untapped potential of the country's engineering talent that can trigger
more growth. Moreover, it is efficient to have design/fab/assembly in the same geographical
location(s).
Additionally, there are many non-corporate entities that play critical roles in growth and should have
been invited. I'm suggesting critics/authors such as Chris Miller, semiconductor product review
companies such as Tom's Hardware, and local publishers. Perhaps next year's organizers will ensure
this.
As always, the raw energy, enthusiasm, and aggression shown by Delhiites was mesmerizing in and
around the conference. The rain gods tried to disrupt or attend the conference, but the proceedings
were uninterrupted.
And finally, on my return journey from conference to Delhi Airport, the taxi driver said it would take 3
hours to reach the airport due to the traffic jam (an outcome of Semicon India, I guess). I preferred to
take the Metro, changed 4 metro lines, and after hopping in and out of Metro lines, reached the
airport in 2 hours. Delhi Metro rocks!!! Indeed.

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India Rolls out Red Carpet to Semiconductor Corporate world

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