India’s semiconductor imports cross Rs 1.7 lakh crore as domestic push grows

India imported semiconductor chips worth Rs 1.71 lakh crore (USD 20.7 billion) in the financial year 2023-24 to meet rising demand, as per data from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS). These imports included a range of components like integrated circuits, memory chips, and amplifiers, underscoring India’s dependence on global suppliers for critical electronics.

Revealed during a Lok Sabha session on December 4, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Jitin Prasada, acknowledged the country’s significant import reliance but highlighted the government’s efforts to build a domestic semiconductor ecosystem through the Rs 76,000 crore Semicon India Programme.

The initiative provides up to 50% fiscal support for projects involving silicon-based fabs, display fabs, compound semiconductors, and chip packaging facilities. For semiconductor design, incentives include funding of up to Rs 15 crore per project and deployment-linked incentives of 6% to 4% on net sales turnover over five years, capped at Rs 30 crore per project.

Progress under the programme includes approvals for five semiconductor projects with a total investment of Rs 1.52 lakh crore. Additionally, 15 semiconductor design companies have received support under the Design Linked Incentive Scheme, and 41 companies now have access to chip design tools via the National EDA Tool Grid at Bengaluru’s ChipIN Centre.

To address the need for skilled manpower, the government launched the Chips to Startup (C2S) initiative, targeting the training of 85,000 professionals in VLSI and embedded system design across 100 institutions.