Lok Sabha Question No. 1468 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-04
Subject: Semiconductor R&D
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Durai Vaiko

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1468

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 04.12.2024

## SEMICONDUCTOR R&D

## 1468.  SHRI DURAI VAIKO:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

(a)  the details of the size of country's semiconductor chip design workforce as a percentage of the global workforce;

(b) the details of chip design facilities present in country as a percentage of global facilities;

(c) the details of the absolute figure and percentage of the funds spent on 'semiconductor R&D' out  of  the  total  money  spent  on  semiconductor  industry  development  under  various  schemes since 2014, year-wise;

(d)  the  details  of  the  percentage  of  funds  planned  to  be  spent  on  'semiconductor  R&D'  under every proposed semiconductor-related scheme awaiting implementation respectively; and

(e)  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  prevent  the  shortage  of  professionals  in  the semiconductor industry  and  the  funds  spent/planned  to  be  spent  on  this  subject  under  various schemes respectively since 2014, scheme and year-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

(a): India  has  emerged  as  a  global  leader  in  semiconductor  design  workforce,  witnessing remarkable  growth.  Most  of  the  leading  international  companies  have  established  R&D (Research and Development) and innovation centres in India, drawn by the country's exceptional design talent.

As per the 'SemiconIndia Future Skills Talent Committee report', about 1.25 Lakh semiconductor  design  engineers  were  working  in  India  in  the  year  2022. According  to  other estimates,  such  as  the  Semiconductor  Industry  Association  (SIA)/Boston  Consulting  Group (BCG) report on 'Emerging Resilience in the Semiconductor Supply Chain' (published in May 2024),Indian engineers accounts to about 19% of global design engineers.

- (b): According to the BCG SIA report on 'Emerging Resilience in the Semiconductor Supply Chain' (published in May 2024), 7% of chip design facilities are present in India as a percentage of global facilities.
- (c): Government is focused on its objective of building the overall semiconductor design and manufacturing  ecosystem  with  an  emphasis  on  fostering  R&D  in  semiconductor  area  in  the country. MeitY supports R&D projects in the area of semiconductors at academic institutions, research organizations, and startup companies through a dedicated R&D Scheme. Some of them includes but not limited to the followingnanotechnology, semiconductor materials, semiconductor processes, chip design, semiconductor IP Cores etc. Year-wise budget spent by MeitY since the year 2014 in the area of R&D in Electronics including Semiconductor R&D is at Annexure-I.

(d): Government  of  India  has  approved  the  'Modified  Programme  for  Semiconductors  and Display Fab Ecosystem' with an outlay of ₹76,000 crore in order to catalyse the semiconductor & display ecosystem in the country. Up to 2.5% of the outlay of the Programme is earmarked for meeting  the  R&D,  skill  development  and  training  requirements  for  the  development  of semiconductor ecosystem in India. Additionally, ₹1000 Crore has been earmarked for the Design Linked  Incentive  Scheme  under  the  Programme  for  supporting  fabless  chip  design  industry, including semiconductor R&D activities.

(e): Government of India acknowledges the importance of nurturing world-class talent to build a robust semiconductor ecosystem, recognizing that capacity-building initiatives, and skill development programs to address workforce gaps is the foundation of this effort. MeitY supports various capacity development and skill development  programmes at academic institutions and R&D organizations. Some of these initiatives of Government of India include, but not limited to the following - SMDP-C2SD (Special Manpower Development Programme for Chips to System Design) (Year 2014-21), Indian Nanoelectronics User Programme (INUP) (year 2014-2019),  INUP  Idea  to  Innovation  initiated  in  year  2021  and  Chips  to  Start-up  (C2S) Programme initiated in year 2022 etc. Year-wise budget spent by MeitY since the year 2014 for capacity building and skill development in the area of Semiconductors is at Annexure-II .

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## Year-wise budget spent by MeitY since the year 2014 in the area of R&D in Electronics including Semiconductor R&D

|   # | Year    | Funds spent on semiconductorR&D (₹ in Crore)   |
|-----|---------|------------------------------------------------|
|   1 | 2014-15 | 183.52                                         |
|   2 | 2015-16 | 114.41                                         |
|   3 | 2016-17 | 116.00                                         |
|   4 | 2017-18 | 100.93                                         |
|   5 | 2018-19 | 178.91                                         |
|   6 | 2019-20 | 427.71                                         |
|   7 | 2020-21 | 420.91                                         |
|   8 | 2021-22 | 502.04                                         |
|   9 | 2022-23 | 349.18                                         |
|  10 | 2023-24 | 251.00                                         |
|  11 | 2024-25 | 215.00 (till date)                             |

## Annexure-II

Year-wise budget spent by MeitY since the year 2014 for capacity building and skill development in the area of Semiconductors.

|   # | Year    | Funds spent on capacity building and skill development in semiconductor area (₹ in Crore)   |
|-----|---------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|   1 | 2014-15 | 37.62                                                                                       |
|   2 | 2015-16 | 15.79                                                                                       |
|   3 | 2016-17 | 28.80                                                                                       |
|   4 | 2017-18 | 40.69                                                                                       |
|   5 | 2018-19 | 13.51                                                                                       |
|   6 | 2019-20 | 24.16                                                                                       |
|   7 | 2022-23 | 38.90                                                                                       |
|   8 | 2023-24 | 28.95                                                                                       |
|   9 | 2024-25 | 69.84 (till date)                                                                           |

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