- S Jaishankar focusses on an MoU on semiconductors signed with the United States during Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo’s visit and an MoU on semiconductor supply-chain resilience with Japan
- It is truly a powerful case for Make in India and Make for the World: External Affairs Minister
- India is making rapid strides toward achieving its semiconductor ambitions under PM’s visionary leadership: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar
NE BUSINESS BUREAU
GANDHINAGAR, JULY 30
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday called on businesses to optimise globalisation as global supply chains become more distributed. India’s semiconductor mission is not just about meeting domestic requirements but also aimed at contributing to a global demand for trusted manufacturing.
Speaking at the SemiconIndia Conference 2023 https://t.co/rtk5bOrNi5
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (Modi Ka Parivar) (@DrSJaishankar) July 30, 2023
In an address at a conference, he told top executives of leading global semiconductor firms that their decisions and relationships have implications far beyond immediate business and can contribute to re-engineering the global economy.
મુખ્યમંત્રી શ્રી ભૂપેન્દ્રભાઈ પટેલની પ્રેરક ઉપસ્થિતિમાં ગુજરાત સરકારના સાયન્સ એન્ડ ટેક્નોલોજી વિભાગ અને ઇન્ડિયન ઇલેક્ટ્રોનિક્સ એન્ડ સેમીકન્ડક્ટર એસોસિએશન (IESA) વચ્ચે આજે ગાંધીનગરમાં MoU સંપન્ન થયા હતા.
આ MoU અંતર્ગત રાજ્યમાં સેમીકન્ડક્ટર સેક્ટર માટે વાઈબ્રન્ટ ઇકોસિસ્ટમ ઉભી… pic.twitter.com/2Ntq5bV93T
— CMO Gujarat (@CMOGuj) July 29, 2023
Jaishankar noted that an India-Japan pact on cooperation on the semiconductor supply chain was finalised this month and a similar agreement was sealed with the US in March as he argued that trust and transparency have emerged as key issues for the future of the digital domain and questions like who processes and harvests “our data is becoming crucial in a world of artificial intelligence.”
મુખ્યમંત્રી શ્રી ભૂપેન્દ્રભાઈ પટેલ સાથે આજે
ઇલેક્ટ્રોનિક્સ ક્ષેત્રની 'ફોક્સકોન' કંપનીના ચેરમેન શ્રી યંગ લિયુએ ગાંધીનગરમાં સૌજન્ય મુલાકાત લીધી હતી તથા ભારતમાં તેમની કંપનીના ઉત્પાદન પ્લાન્ટની સ્થાપના માટે પ્રતિબદ્ધતા દર્શાવી હતી.મુખ્યમંત્રીશ્રીએ માનનીય વડાપ્રધાનશ્રીના… pic.twitter.com/LXv3XIVLxd
— CMO Gujarat (@CMOGuj) July 29, 2023
India has been trying to attract leading semiconductor producers to set up manufacturing facilities in the country in the backdrop of evolving geopolitical landscape and increasing global focus on ensuring resilient supply chains.
મુખ્યમંત્રી શ્રી ભૂપેન્દ્રભાઈ પટેલની અમેરિકન સેમિકન્ડક્ટર કંપની એડવાન્સ્ડ માઈક્રો ડીવાઈસ AMDના એક્ઝીક્યુટીવ વાઈસ પ્રેસિડેન્ટ અને CTO શ્રી માર્ક પેપરમાસ્ટરે ડેલિગેશન સાથે ગાંધીનગરમાં સૌજન્ય મુલાકાત લીધી હતી. તેમણે ગુજરાતની સેમિકન્ડક્ટર પોલિસીની સરાહના કરતાં આવનારા સમયમાં… pic.twitter.com/SLnCMQNGE6
— CMO Gujarat (@CMOGuj) July 28, 2023
Jaishankar noted that the depiction of a “chip war” may be somewhat overstated, but it has “more than a fundamental kernel of truth”.
“Our semiconductor mission is not just about meeting domestic requirements. It is also about contributing to a global demand for trusted manufacturing. Indeed, it is truly a powerful case for Make in India and Make for the World,” he said.
In his virtual address at the SemiconIndia Conference 2023 in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar, Jaishankar also highlighted India’s growing cooperation in the critical technology domain with the US and mentioned the MoU on semiconductor supply chain and innovation partnership that was firmed up during US Commerce Secretary Gina M Raimondo’s visit to New Delhi in March.
“It sought to establish a collaborative mechanism that would represent a productive intersection of America’s CHIPS and Science Act and India’s semiconductor mission,” he said.
Jaishankar said cooperation in semiconductors was a focus of talks during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US last month.
“Three US companies — Micron Technology, Lam Research and Applied Materials — made specific commitments that have been the subject of your deliberations as well,” he said.
Jaishankar said that India’s entry as the latest member of the ‘Minerals Security Partnership’ is worth noting, given the importance today of diversifying and securing supply chains in that area.
“Similarly, cooperation between the two countries has been a visible tailwind in the sphere of advanced telecommunications. Even as India’s 5G rollout starts to gather momentum, it is noteworthy to seek Bharat 6G and the American NextG Alliance co-lead research,” he said.
“Launching Open RAN deployments and participating in the US Rip and Replace Programme is also worth noting. This collaboration today extends to new initiatives and additional domains and can be expected to grow steadily,” he added.
The Rip and Replace programme is aimed at purging equipment from Chinese telecommunications companies like Huawei and ZTE in view of anxiety over data security, spying and cyberattacks.
“We see that, for example, in space where India is signing the Artemis Accords and promoting stronger ISRO-NASA collaboration. It is visible too in the creation of a Joint Indo-US Quantum Coordination Mechanism,” he said.
“The Innovation Handshake between Indian entities and the National Science Foundation (NSF) holds much promise. So too does the INDUS-X innovation bridge in defence technologies,” he noted.
The external affairs minister also talked about the India-Japan Memorandum of Cooperation on semiconductor supply chain partnership, describing Tokyo as a significant partner in the domain.
“Just this month, we concluded a Memorandum of Cooperation on semiconductor supply chain Partnership,” he said, adding it is expected to promote semiconductor design, manufacturing, equipment research, talent development and industrial resilience.
“I should also mention our Quad partner Australia, because of their salience in raw materials, critical minerals and innovative research. Do note that we have an ongoing Critical Minerals Investment Partnership with that country,” Jaishankar said.
The external affairs minister further noted, “As political democracies, pluralistic societies and market economies, we all have understandable concerns of both privacy and security. It is, therefore, essential that those of us who are comfortable working with each other enhance our collaboration.”
In the global context, critical and emerging technologies (CET) have become an intrinsic element of the knowledge economy that is steadily unfolding.
“If the very nature of our economic and social activities undergo a transformation as a result, it is not surprising that CET should now emerge as one of the important metrics of power.
“Who invents, who manufactures, what are the market shares, where are the resources, who has the skills, where is the talent pool — these are increasingly the crucial questions,” he said.
“The depiction of a Chip War may be somewhat overstated, but it has more than a fundamental kernel of truth. To a considerable extent, concerns in the CET field are influenced by how market shares and production dominance was leveraged in other areas,” Jaishankar said.
“Technology trade is not just trade, it is as much as about political science. The truth is that we are seeing the re-emergence of export controls as a response to strategic assertions of economic strength. How to do business needs to be tempered with where and with whom to do it,” he noted.
India is making rapid strides toward achieving its semiconductor ambitions under PM’s visionary leadership: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Exciting conversations over a meal!
Have you heard of chiplets?
A Bengaluru based #Startup strikes a conversation with MoS @Rajeev_GoI explaining about Chip Designed in India #SemiconIndia2023 has provided a great platform to Startups for showcasing their innovations.… pic.twitter.com/q3x0XNA0WN— Digital India (@_DigitalIndia) July 29, 2023
Union Minister of State for Electronics & IT and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship said that SemiconIndia Conference 2023 is showcasing India’s growing commitment to the semiconductor industry and spoke about how India is making rapid strides toward achieving its semiconductor ambitions under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visionary leadership.
The second day of the three-day SemiconIndia 2023 Conference attracted huge participation from the industry, academia and government.
In the session on Next-Gen Computing, Balaji Baktha, CEO, Ventana Micro Systems discussed the critical aspects around digital autonomy and sovereign datacenter infrastructure powered by RISC-V. Raja Koduri, CEO, Mihira AI highlighted the future of computing and emphasized the value of time and financial resources for startups.
Panel discussions were organised to deliberate on various pertinent themes, including semiconductor packaging. Gursharan Singh, SVP, Micron Technology; Jeffery Chun, Simmtech; Noboru Yoshinaga, Disco; and Raja Vinay, Air Liquide discussed about the supply chain strategy and roadmap of Micron’s Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) plant in India. The panel led by Dr Hem Takiar, Micron Technology and other esteemed dignitaries – Prof Tummala Rao, Georgia Tech; Dr Surya Bhattacharya, IME Singapore; Devan Iyer, Amkor, and Amrit Manwani, Sahasra shared their views on the importance of packaging research and innovation in driving future performance of semiconductor packaging in India.
The panelists highlighted the potential of India in large-scale R&D and how consortia model and industry-relevant research could play a key role.
The deliberations on “Next-generation designs” explored the cutting-edge advancements and future possibilities in the semiconductor industry. Lars Reger, NXP Semiconductors spoke about the growth of autonomous and Electric Vehicles (EVs) in India. He stressed on the fact that software and digital twin technologies are gaining prominence, with a focus on creating modern smartphone-like experiences for charging and driving. Indian unicorns are seen as aspiring partners for NXP, further enriching the innovation landscape.
The panel comprising Anand Ramamoorthy, Micron Technology; Navin Bishnoi, Marvell; Shri Hitesh Garg, NXP Semiconductors; Malini Narayanamoorthi, Renesas; Balajee Sowrirajan, Samsung Semiconductor India R&D Center and Neel Gala, InCore Semiconductors deliberated on how emerging designs are driving the Fab loading. They emphasized the importance of custom computing for AI and data centers and underlined the growth potential in the automotive industry.
