Foundation stone laid for IISc staff housing complex
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Business Standard
9 hours ago
- Business Standard
PM Narendra Modi pushes for tech self-reliance in Independence Day speech
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his address on the 79th Independence Day, underscored the need for India to be self-reliant and innovative in its use of technology. He emphasised that building digital sovereignty is essential to reduce dependence on foreign companies for tech services. 'Every nation that mastered technology scaled the heights of development, reached the pinnacle, and attained new dimensions of economic power,' he said, urging the country to master critical technologies. PM Modi highlighted India's progress in the semiconductor space. 'The first Made in India chip, manufactured in Bharat by the people of Bharat, will be available in the market by the end of this year,' he said. 'Today we have freed ourselves from that burden and advanced the work on semiconductors in mission mode. Six different semiconductor units are taking shape on the ground, and we have already given the green signal to four new units,' Modi said during his 103-minute speech, the longest in his ongoing tenure as Prime Minister. Under the first phase of the Rs 76,000 crore India Semiconductor Mission, the government has so far approved 10 semiconductor chip fabrication and packaging units. In June 2023, the government approved a $2.75 billion project proposal by Micron to establish a semiconductor chip Assembly, Testing, Marking, and Packaging (ATMP) unit in Sanand, Gujarat. A few months later, the government approved India's first chip fabrication project, a joint venture between India's Tata Group and Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC), with an investment of $11 billion (approximately Rs 91,000 crore). Since then, the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), the nodal agency under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, has approved eight more ATMP, Outsourced Assembly and Testing (OSAT), and compound semiconductor fabrication units. Earlier this week, the Union Cabinet approved four additional compound semiconductor fabrication and ATMP units, two of which will be set up in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, and one each in Mohali, Punjab, and Andhra Pradesh. During his speech on Friday, Modi also exhorted the nation's youth to build indigenous platforms so that India's wealth did not 'go out' of the country. Citing the example of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform, which is handling 50% of the real-time transactions happening in India today, the Prime Minister said that the ability to create something like UPI meant that the youth had power. 'Be it the creative world, social media, or any of these platforms, I challenge the youth of my country, come, why don't we have our own platforms? Why should we depend on others? Why should India's wealth go out? I have faith in your capability,' Modi said. The Prime Minister's call for tech self-reliance comes as nations worldwide ramp up investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity amid geopolitical and economic uncertainty. Jaspreet Bindra, co-founder of AI & Beyond, said that in today's rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape, relying solely on foreign platforms means outsourcing capability, sovereignty, and control. 'Building sovereign AI and homegrown digital infrastructure will ensure India retains its economic value, safeguards its data and jobs, and shapes technologies to serve its own strategic and business interests. We would not like to end up in a scenario where our digital services like DPI, DPG, and AI platforms are at the whims and fancies of another nation,' he added. The PM also called on the youth of the country to build and create Made-in-India social media platforms and other technology platforms. However, historically India has not been able to make a global mark. One reason is that digital businesses tend to favour first movers in the space. India did try to create its own micro-blogging platform, Koo, similar to X (formerly Twitter). Despite local language support and several celebrities joining the platform, it could not sustain. Mayank Bidawatka, co-founder of Koo, told Business Standard that when it comes to technology, India needs to be patient with adoption and invest heavily in key areas. 'It could be research in medical breakthroughs, automation (robotics, AI, manufacturing), or defence. There are many areas. You just have to rethink what the future will be like and where countries and companies will get a competitive edge by owning the resource or the final product, and start placing bets early,' he added. Bidawatka urged that strategic and national importance should be focused on and protected. 'Create homegrown companies or ask homegrown companies to create solutions with tax breaks/incentives and protect these from outside competition for a few years,' he said. Pankit Desai, co-founder and CEO of Sequretek, a cybersecurity firm, shared that the PM's call to the youth to innovate in AI and cybersecurity is both timely and essential. "As cyber threats evolve at unprecedented speed, India's ability to secure its digital future will hinge on indigenous innovation that blends advanced AI with strong security frameworks. At Sequretek, we believe this is an opportunity to not just consume technology, but to create globally competitive solutions from India," Desai said.
The Print
12 hours ago
- The Print
‘In mission mode' for 1st Made-in-India chip by 2025-end—Modi on big tech bet in I-Day speech
The prime minister's comments come two days after the approval of four new semiconductor manufacturing facilities under India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) for applications in defence, electric vehicles and solar power. These facilities are to be set up in Odisha, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, with an investment of Rs 4,600 crore, amplifying employment opportunities for skilled professionals in the electronic manufacturing ecosystem. 'We are working in mission mode in the semiconductor sector. Made-in-India chips will hit markets by the end of this year,' he said. 'We have decided to make India self-reliant in energy, taking several initiatives in solar, hydrogen and nuclear sectors.' Bengaluru: India is preparing to roll out its first domestically produced semiconductor by the end of this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech at the Red Fort Friday, emphasised the pressing need for the country to be technology-driven to achieve success. For instance, SicSem Private Limited is collaborating with UK's Class-SiC Wafer Fab Ltd to manufacture Silicon Carbide devices in Info Valley, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. This will be the first commercial compound fabrication facility in the country, according to a government press release. Also in Info Valley, 3D Glass Solutions will be setting up a packaging and embedding glass substrate unit. In Andhra Pradesh, a semiconductor manufacturing unit for applications in mobile phones and automobiles will be set up in a tie-up with South Korea-based Advanced System in Package Technologies (ASIP). Punjab will also house a manufacturing facility through the expansion of Continental Device India Private Limited's (CDIL) unit in Mohali. 'These would complement the growing world class chip design capabilities coming up in the country which are propelled by design infrastructure support provided by the Government to 278 academic institutions and 72 start-ups,' the government statement read. Later this year, the country will host the fourth edition of Semicon India 2025 in New Delhi. This year, the conference will focus on building semiconductor powerhouses. For the first time, the exhibition will have international pavilions from Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and 15 other countries. Also Read: Modi pushes for self-reliance in critical minerals in I-Day speech. What India's done so far Joining the global chip circuit Modi has previously pushed for 'betting on India', especially 'when the chips are down', by banking on India's semiconductor revolution. By 2030, India's chip market is expected to grow to $100 billion. India is setting foot in the global semiconductor industry, which is currently dominated by countries like Taiwan, Japan, China and the US. More than 60 percent of semiconductors in the world are presently manufactured by Taiwan, exposing global supply chains to alarming risks in the middle of geopolitical tensions. India has joined the race, along with the US, EU, Japan and South Korea, to be self reliant in semiconductor production. With rich sources of chemicals, minerals and gases used for semiconductor manufacturing, India is seen as a country which could rise as a contributor to the primary pillars of chip manufacturing supply chain, such as equipment building, material supply, and research and development. Nonetheless, India needs the right technology and policy to realise a semiconductor future, besides ensuring a strong industry-academia engagement, where academia works on industry-relevant problems, and industry must have a vision for the next 10 years to drive futuristic research through academia. Government subsidies and support to build fabrication facilities are pertinent. That said, as policy experts observe, fabrication facilities will take longer for companies to see profits. The longer time in returns might lead to the fabrication laboratories to be uneconomical, and will warrant multiple rounds of subsidies. It is also important to secure intellectual property rights for semiconductor designs. Reports suggest that India has lower domestic control of patents, unlike countries like China. The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), approved by the Union Cabinet in December 2021, outlays Rs 76,000 crore to provide support for investment in semiconductor fabrication, display and manufacturing and chip design. ISM is focused on a long-term strategy for the manufacturing and design ecosystem by promoting indigenous Intellectual Property (IP) generation, while training Indian youth and encouraging international investments. Such a focus extends to other sectors as well. (Edited by Mannat Chugh) Also Read: 'India working on its own space station, human spaceflight mission'—Modi on 'atmanirbharta' in space
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Business Standard
14 hours ago
- Business Standard
PM Modi urges self-reliance in critical minerals, backs national mission
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said self-reliance in the critical minerals was 'extremely essential', while asserting that his government was working to achieve it. The PM's statement comes at a time when the country is facing shortage of rare earth magnet due to export restrictions placed by China -- which produces over 90 per cent of world's rare earth magnets. Highlighting government efforts, PM Modi said the National Critical Minerals Mission (NCMM) has already been launched, with exploration work underway at more than 1,200 locations. 'Whether it is the energy sector, the industrial sector, the defence sector, or any field of technology, critical minerals play a very important role. The entire world is now quite alert about them, something that received little attention until recently is now at the centre stage. For us too, self-reliance in critical minerals is extremely essential,' PM Modi said in his Independence Day address from the Red Fort. Approved by the Union Cabinet in January for the period 2024-25 to 2030-31, the NCMM involves Rs 16,300 crore in government funding and an expected Rs 18,000 crore investment from public sector undertakings (PSUs) and other stakeholders. The mission aims for exploration work in projects, secure at least 50 overseas mineral assets, support the filing of 1,000 patents across the critical minerals value chain, and create 10,000 skilled professionals. It also targets recycling at least 10 per cent of India's annual critical mineral consumption. According to the mines ministry, the government has auctioned 34 mineral blocks in five tranches. Earlier this month, it granted 10 patents in the field and identified seven Centres of Excellence, including four IITs, for research and development in critical mineral technologies. The Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill 2025, passed by the Lok Sabha this week, waived the charges for including extractable critical minerals in the existing mineral lease. The experts believe it will give impetus to the production of critical and strategic minerals.
