NEW DELHI: India plans to train one lakh semiconductor design engineers over five years under Semicon 2.0, as govt looks to build a deeper talent pool alongside its push into advanced chip technologies and manufacturing. The skilling push builds on the first phase of the programme, under which govt said around 85,000 engineers have already been trained in semiconductor design, well ahead of the original timeline.The next phase of the semiconductor mission will also support R&D towards 7nm-3nm technologies, moving beyond the earlier focus on capabilities up to 28nm.Electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said govt expects major global semiconductor equipment makers to establish a presence in India over the coming months, bringing parts of their supply chains with them. This could also create opportunities for domestic companies and MSMEs to supply precision components used in chipmaking equipment. Semicon 2.0 will also widen the design-linked incentive framework. Support, earlier focused on startups and MSMEs, will now be available to larger Indian companies as well as companies owned by Overseas Citizens of India.At the manufacturing end, Central fiscal support for new silicon fabs has been reduced to 40% of eligible expenditure from 50% under the earlier scheme. Govt said the cut reflects greater confidence among investors about setting up semiconductor manufacturing in India.
