Semicon 2.0 can boost local chip design for telecom infrastructure: IESA President
Bengaluru, Oct 9 (IANS) India needs to strengthen domestic chip design capabilities for telecom infrastructure and provide growth capital to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to help them scale up and compete globally, Ashok Chandak, President of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) and President and CEO of SEMI India, said on Friday.
Chandak said a significant portion of India’s telecom infrastructure currently relies on imported content, while domestic chip design for the sector remains limited.
He said the proposed Semicon 2.0 policy could encourage local chip design and the development of indigenous intellectual property (IP) to meet the requirements of 5G and 6G telecom infrastructure.
“Most of the telecom infrastructure has the content which is of import. And there are hardly few chips those are, or very limited or nothing, those are designed in India,” Chandak said.
He said understanding the requirements and specifications of telecom infrastructure would help India design chips suited to its needs, while Semicon 2.0 could support local designs and intellectual property development.
“The Semicon 2.0 policy would encourage and help the local designs of those chips — so local design and IPRs to meet the requirements those are required for telecom infrastructure,” he added.
“India is at a very different stage now, where globally, with the efforts of Prime Minister Modi and his policies and his colleagues and departments, India has been brought to the global map where globally, the international, worldwide, many companies and countries are trusting now India, actually,” Chandak added.
Emphasising the complementary roles of India Mobile Congress and Semicon India, Chandak said the former primarily focuses on telecom infrastructure, equipment, installation and related developments, while the latter aims to build the entire semiconductor value chain, from design to manufacturing.
He described the two initiatives as different but interconnected components of the broader technology ecosystem, referring to the concept of “silicon to systems”.
–IANS
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