Consider the following statements regarding India’s semiconductor industry and imports:

1. As per industry estimates, the size of the Indian semiconductor market was about $38 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach over $100 billion by 2030.

2. In the past 10 years, imports of semiconductor chips such as monolithic integrated circuits and memories have decreased.

3. In the past 10 years, except for Fiscal Year 2019, China has been the major supplier of semiconductor chips to India, accounting for nearly one-third of the import value every year.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The correct answer is option 3. 

In News

• At the World Economic Forum in January 2024, India's Minister of Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, announced the rollout of India’s first domestically manufactured semiconductor chip this year.

Key Points

• India’s semiconductor market was valued at $38 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to $109 billion by 2030, according to industry estimates. Hence, Statement 1 is correct.
• Semiconductor chip imports have increased significantly over the past decade.
  • Imports of monolithic ICs rose by 2,000% from FY16 to FY24.
  • Imports of memory chips increased by 4,500% in the same period.
  • Imports of amplifiers increased by 4,800% over the last decade.
    • Hence, Statement 2 is incorrect.
• China has been India’s leading semiconductor supplier for nearly a decade, except for FY19.
  • China accounts for nearly one-third of India’s semiconductor imports annually.
  • Other major suppliers include Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan.
    • Hence, Statement 3 is correct.

Additional Information

• The Semicon India Programme (2021) was launched with a ₹76,000 crore outlay to develop India’s semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem.
• Five major semiconductor manufacturing and assembly plants are under development, including:
  • Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test facility in Morigaon.
  • Dholera Semiconductor Fab in collaboration with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation.
• Despite these efforts, India is still dependent on imports for semiconductor materials, fabrication tools, and electronic design automation (EDA) software.