Why is the world going gaga on Bharat – United States deal on security semiconductors? Shakti, the first security semiconductors development and fabrication plant to be set up by Bharat in collaboration with US, would give the country huge heft in advanced sensing, communication and high voltage power electronics relating to military hardware in the war theatre.
This multi-material chips production plant will provide extra security cover for Bharat from her adversaries in South and South East Asia including China and Pakistan in futuristic wars.
The Wilmington deal announced by US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has huge significance in terms of signalling Bharat’s rivals.
If initial reactions were to be gauged, Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping are wary of this key deal clinched on Sunday during visit of Prime Minister Modi to US.
Accordingly, India Semiconductors Mission will support Bharat Semi, 3rditech partnership with US Space Force and General Atomics. Manufacture of infra-red, gallium nitride and silicon carbide semiconductors will go a long way in our security paradigm.
Some analysts have likened the security semiconductors deal to the civil nuclear treaty that would take Bharat’s security apparatus to yet another notch above. Communist friends across spectrum within and outside the country are bound to cry foul and ‘sell off’ to US as was the case in civil nuclear treaty that virtually dislodged the then Manmohan Singh government.
This deal is definitely the centre-piece of Prime Minister Modi’s latest United States visit that’s being opposed by Bharat’s foes from within and outside.
There’s no reason why Bharat should be spending $1 billion annually on just procuring security semiconductor chips each year given her technology prowess and innovation capabilities. Setting up Global Foundries facility at Kolkata Power Centre as part of Indo-US deal again would expand capacities to manufacture chips.
The deal also marks moving away from China for semiconductors value chain especially for commercial and production purposes.
Bharat’s thrust on semiconductors would open up new opportunities for international players to produce the chips for industrial applications etc. in the country. Bharat has deftly partnered with companies in US, Europe, Taiwan and Singapore to annually produce high quality chips.
About Rs 1.5 lakh crore is being invested to produce seven crore chips each day. This is part of the larger objective to set up alternative supply chains moving away from expansionist China.
Four such fabrication plants are being built by Bharat to make to emerge among top five players globally. While two facilities for semiconductor chips are being set up at Sanand in Gujarat by Kaynes Semicon and CG Power, the other two will come up in Dhadera in Gujarat and Moregaon in Assam through Tata Electronics.
Way back in 2021 Bharat zeroed-in on potential for setting up new semiconductors ecosystem. To encourage semi-conductors chips production, processes, development and evolution of entire ecosystem, Bharat had decided to provide focused Rs 76,000 crore support through production linked incentive scheme.
By 2030, the semiconductors market in Bharat is expected to expand to $109 billion as against the prevailing $38 billion business opportunities.
Semiconductors are high-impact business activity. It will not only add billions of dollars to the country’s GDP, it has serious potential to create millions of high skilled jobs. Import dependence will not only get reduced but eventually Bharat will become net supplier of semiconductor chips for sectors across spectrum including industrial applications, automobiles and mobile industry.
Power supply, industrial zones and logistics related infrastructure will also get a leg up given the pipeline for multitude of deals that Bharat has created in last few years. Specialized education programmes and new skills development initiatives will have to be evolved as the demand for semiconductors specialists goes up organically.
Electronics manufacturing, telecommunications and automotive industry expansion is bound to happen once assured supply of semiconductors was to be created.
Arc of geo-political influence for Bharat is bound to expand given semiconductors importance in security apparatus and future wars or conflicts. Already, a huge network of start-ups in semiconductors business has sprung up to take up innovative projects.
Setting aside past failures, it’s now that Bharat has to take a leap!
The author is Director & Chief Executive of non-partisan think tank, Centre for Integrated and Holistic Studies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
Comments
0 comment