Rise of chip manufacturing in India

  

 

India's involvement in semiconductor technology has gone through two main phases. The early 1980s saw India trying to catch up with global advancements, but still falling behind by about two years. Despite this initial lag, India showed impressive skills in designing chips and worked with international tech companies. They also started making chips customized for military, strategic, and space uses.

 

Fast forward to 2021, and a new chapter begins. While India did well in chip design, it didn't keep up in making commercial-grade chips, missing an expected boost in this area. Meanwhile, leading tech countries like the US, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan surged ahead, leaving India trying to cover a massive twelve-generation gap.

 

A crucial point in India's journey with semiconductors happened in the mid-1970s when the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) partnered with the Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI) in Pilani. They aimed to strengthen India's abilities in semiconductor technology. By 1982, CEERI had shown skill in high-tech areas, including power semiconductor devices, integrated circuits, and microwave devices.

 

A similar story unfolded in Mohali. The Semi-Conductors Laboratory (SCL) started in 1976, gaining momentum through a collaboration with American Microsystems in 1984. However, a big fire in 1989 stopped production until 1997, putting India several generations behind in technology. Even with this setback, SCL played a vital role in providing chips for India's successful space missions, including the significant Mangalyaan mission.

 

Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, recently pointed out how much things have changed. In 1987, India was only two years behind in chip-making technology. Now, it's a twelve-generation gap, showing the urgency to catch up.

 

The Quad, comprising India, the USA, Japan, and Australia, declared in September 2021 their joint commitment to safeguarding the semiconductor supply chain. Expanding on this initiative, India entered into an agreement with Japan in July 2021 to cultivate a robust semiconductor ecosystem. This encompasses manufacturing, research, design, talent development, and supply chain aspects.

 

Japan's strong position in key parts of semiconductor production, like silicon wafers and gases used in making chips, shows how these collaborations are mutually beneficial. Anshuman Tripathi, a member of the National Security Council Secretariat, explained India has enough of one of these gases, neon, but they need Japan's help in refining it for chip-making.

 

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US in June, Micron announced a massive investment of $825 million. Additionally, Applied Materials and Lam Technologies are investing $400 million to train 60,000 engineers in India.

 

An important agreement was signed between Lam Technologies and the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru on July 29. They'll create a special course for Indian universities to teach semiconductor fabrication technology using Lam Research’s virtual fabrication software and simulator.

 

This push for collaboration comes from the India-US 'Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology', which started in January. It promised to support the development of a semiconductor design, manufacturing, and fabrication system in India. In March, India and Australia announced the India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership, focusing on key materials like lithium and cobalt, which are crucial for today's technologies.

 

In December 2021, only three months after the Quad announcement, the Union Cabinet approved a big program to encourage the development of the semiconductor and display system, with a budget of Rs 76,000 crore. This program gives strong support to companies and groups working on semiconductor making, sensors, design, and putting together the final product. Micron was first to benefit from this, with their $825 million investment in a $2.75 billion project. Half of the project cost will be supported by the Central government, and an additional 20% come from Gujarat.

 

Building on this, in September of the previous year, the Union Cabinet made changes to the 'Programme for the Development of Semiconductors and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem in India', aiming to set up at least 20 units for semiconductor design, making components, and creating displays in the next six years.

 

 

However, as India works through this complex world of semiconductor development, important questions come up about the technical goals it's aiming for. Right now, India is looking at making chips at the 40nm scale. But, there's a question of whether they could aim even higher. Chips get more advanced as the scale gets smaller. Currently, modern smartphones and laptops use chips between 5NM and 22NM, raising the possibility of India's pursuit of even finer scales.

 

Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Information Technology, explained that nearly half of the global demand for chipsets needs technologies more advanced than 28NM. With India's strong presence in the car and telecom sectors, there's a big opportunity to lead in this area.

 

The Reconfigurable Intelligent Systems Engineering (RISE) Laboratory at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-Madras), is a great example of India's tech skills. They created 'Shakti,' a line of production-grade processors with six different versions. Small batches were made at Intel's facility in the United States and were used in crucial strategic sectors.

 

Prof. Arijit Ray Chowdhury from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech, US, sees a big shift coming. He says the first wave focused on chip design, but now the second wave, focusing on making chips, is about to surge in India.

 

The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) opened up about their work in semiconductors, microprocessors, micro-controllers, and micro-sensors at the Def-Expo in Chennai in 2018. The capacities and details of these chips remain secret, underlining their crucial role in India's defence and strategic capabilities.

 

The Solid State Physics Laboratory, a part of DRDO (Defense Research and Development Organization), focuses on researching and developing materials and devices related to semiconductors. This includes powerful laser diodes, solar cells designed for use in space, semiconductor crystals, and integrated circuits. These innovations underpin India's exploration of advanced technologies with significant strategic importance.

 

With the advent of generative A.I. technologies, major businesses and top countries focus on acquiring the most advanced A.I. chips to get the lead in the development of the most advanced A.I. models.
The well-known US chip company, NVIDIA’s H-100 & A-100 chips are most in demand. It is so advanced and popular that buyers are putting in Billions of Dollars’ worth of orders which is leading to an acute shortage of these chips in the market.

Recently NVIDIA, has announced strategic AI partnerships with major Indian conglomerates like Reliance Industries and Tata Group. Their collaboration aims to construct cloud infrastructure, develop advanced language models, and create generative applications.

 

This significant agreement is poised to facilitate NVIDIA's deeper integration into India's flourishing AI landscape, especially in light of certain obstacles faced in exporting chips to countries like China due to US restrictions.

 

During a recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang discussed the immense potential and opportunities that India holds in the field of AI. Through the collaboration with Reliance, NVIDIA will provide the computational power essential for establishing a robust cloud-based AI infrastructure. Concurrently, Reliance's arm, Jio, will oversee the maintenance of the infrastructure and manage customer interactions.

 

NVIDIA stated, "Reliance will develop AI applications and services tailored for their 450 million Jio (telecom) customers and deliver energy-efficient AI infrastructure to scientists, developers, and startups across India."

 

India's leading software services exporter, Tata Consultancy Services, will leverage this partnership opportunity to design and process innovative AI applications and develop a high-performance supercomputer. This collaborative venture was illuminated in a joint statement released by the companies.

 

The engagement between NVIDIA, Reliance, and Tata Group heralds a significant stride towards fostering cutting-edge AI capabilities within India's technological landscape. This collaboration not only showcases the potential for innovation and growth but also underscores the strategic importance of such partnerships in propelling India's technological advancement on the global stage.