India's semiconductor journey to move towards design-led manufacturing for worldwide use: IESA President Ashok Chandak

In an exclusive conversation with ANI on India's progress in the semiconductor sector, Chandak said the country already has strong capabilities in chip design but now needs to ramp up manufacturing to complete the ecosystem.

"India is already good at design activity. We have to ramp up our manufacturing, and the next step will be design-led manufacturing. That means you design in India, and you manufacture in India and then use it worldwide," he said.

Chandak noted that various government policies have helped India move from aspiration to credibility in the global semiconductor industry.

"Based on the various policies and the progress which we have had till 2025, we have built trust. And now we are going to execute and scale up in 2026, '27, '28," he said.

He highlighted that several policy initiatives have contributed to the sector's development, including the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), electronic policies, Production Linked Incentive, DLI (Design Linked Incentive), and Chips to Start-up (C2S) schemes. According to him, India is now recognised as a serious investable destination for electronics and semiconductors worldwide.

"As this ecosystem enters the critical phase of expansion and scale-up, we see this policy momentum continuing. In this year's Budget as well, additional allocation was provided for the electronic component systems scheme," Chandak said.

He further explained that ISM 1.0, launched in 2021, has now evolved into ISM 2.0 with an expanded scope.

"The ISM 1.0 became ISM 2.0, which has expanded its scope beyond fabs and foundries towards chemicals, gases, materials, and other areas. It is not limited to chip manufacturing alone but includes capabilities across design, tools, materials, and upstream segments," he said.

According to Chandak, around 10 plants have been approved under ISM 1.0, while another four to five projects have been approved by state governments.

"Things have really progressed a lot. We have now moved from a design-led capability to a manufacturing readiness, and the packaged chips are already available here, which is the first thing to start," he added.

He also pointed out that India has followed the global trend of starting semiconductor manufacturing with assembly and testing operations rather than wafer fabrication.

"Many times, people think that a country must start with wafer fabs first and then assembly and testing. But if you look at the trend over the last 50 years, except the US, most countries started with OSAT or assembly and test operations because the risk is lower and the skillset requirements are more manageable," Chandak said.

He added that India has already started in this direction, with one plant completed and another three to four plants expected to begin manufacturing soon this year.

Chandak also stressed the importance of chip design in the semiconductor ecosystem. "Design is one of the toughest parts of the semiconductor industry. Unlike manufactured components that you can see in electronic products, the design that sits inside the chip is invisible but highly complex," he said.

India currently has a large semiconductor design workforce. Two years ago, the talent pool stood at around 1.2 lakh professionals and has now grown to nearly 1.6 lakh.

However, Chandak noted that about 70-80 per cent of chip design work in India is carried out in captive design centres of global companies, often referred to as Global Capability Centres (GCCs).

"Nothing wrong with that, but the talent exists in India. Many professionals from these companies are now setting up their own firms and startups, ensuring that the knowledge built in the country is also utilised domestically," he said.

According to Chandak, the growing talent base and increasing manufacturing capabilities will help India strengthen its position in the global semiconductor value chain in the coming years. (ANI)