Lok Sabha Question No. 5242 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-04-02
Subject: Promotion of Research and Development in Electronics and Information Technology Sector
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri K Gopinath

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5242

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 02.04.2025

## PROMOTION OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR

## 5242.  SHRI K GOPINATH:

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

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  Research  and  Development  of  Electronics  and Information Technology Sector is being neglected in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the justification thereto;
- (c) whether the Government has initiated any scheme to promote Research and Development in Electronics and Information Technology sector;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the details regarding the contribution of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in the development and financial inclusion of the country?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (d): Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ('MeitY') is promoting research and development in Electronics and Information Technology in the country through its Digital India Program. Under this programme, new and indigenous technologies/ system/ software/ tools are developed from Proof of Concept (PoC) to system development and deployment to address various societal, industrial and strategic needs. Government supports the R&D ecosystem which includes  capacity  building,  creation  of  infrastructure  for  research  and  through  suitable  policy intervention at academia/Research organization/ startups and industry.

The government through different ministries are encouraging the Research efforts in this sector. Some of  the  major  government  initiatives  to  boost  Research  under  the  Digital  India  Program (DIP) in the country are highlighted below: -

- IndiaAI Mission: The Cabinet has approved the IndiaAI Mission at a total outlay of Rs. 10,371.92 Crores as a comprehensive programme for leveraging transformative technologies  to  foster  inclusion,  innovation  and  adoption  for  social  impact  as  well  as  to make India a global leader in the Al space and ensure responsible and transformational use of Al for All. The India AI mission seeks to foster responsible and inclusive growth within India's  AI  landscape  by  democratizing  access  to  computing  resources,  enhancing  data quality, nurturing  homegrown  AI  expertise,  attracting  top talent, fostering industry
- partnerships,  supporting  startup  ventures,  promoting  socially  impactful  AI  projects,  and emphasizing ethical practices in AI.
- National Supercomputing Mission: The mission was launched in 2015, to foster a robust ecosystem in High-Performance Computing (HPC). Under NSM, more than 30 Peta-Flop (1015)  capacity  supercomputers  have  been  deployed  across  academic  institutions,  R&D labs like IISc, IITs, etc. enabling over 8000 researches from 200 institutes to execute more than 94 lakh application codes. These supercomputers are pivotal in developing nationallevel  applications  in  genomics,  drug  discovery,  flood  forecasting,  disaster  management, and seismic data processing.  Over  20,000  individuals  have  been  trained  in  HPC  and  AI areas under the Mission.
- To  achieve  the  'Atmanirbhar'  (self-reliance)  in  HPC  and  AI,  development  of  indigenous supercomputing  sub-components  i.e.  Server  Board,  High  Speed  Interconnect,  Complete Software Stack, Direct contact liquid Cooling (DCLC) cooling technology etc. have been undertaken through the mission.
- BHASHINI: MeitY has launched Mission Digital India Bhashini in the year 2022 with an outlay of Rs 495.51 crore. Aim is to develop core language technologies for speech and text  translation  for  22  scheduled  Indian  languages  in  open  source  to  help  transcend language barriers in the digital medium. A national public digital platform http://bhashini.gov.in has been developed to proliferate language technology solutions.
-  Semicon India Programme: In addition to Digital India Program (DIP) Government has also approved the 'Semicon India Programme' with a total outlay of INR 76,000 crore for the  development  of  semiconductor  and  display  manufacturing  ecosystem  in  the  country. The programme aims to provide financial support to companies investing in semiconductors  &  display  manufacturing  and  design  ecosystem.  This  paves  the  way  for India's  growing  presence  in the global electronics  &  semiconductor  value  chains. Following four schemes have been introduced under the aforesaid programme:
- i. Modified Scheme for setting up of Semiconductor Fabs in India
- ii. Modified Scheme for setting up of Display Fabs in India
- iii. Modified Scheme for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics /  Sensors  Fab  /  Discrete  Semiconductors  Fab  and  Semiconductor  Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) / OSAT facilities in India
- i. Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme
-  In  addition  to  the  above  schemes,  Government  has  also  approved  modernization  of  the existing  semiconductor  manufacturing  facility  -  Semi-Conductor  Laboratory  (SCL), Mohali as a brownfield Fab and several policies intervention and schemes are initiated by government from time to time.

(e):Digital  Public  Infrastructure  (DPI)  refers  to  the  foundational  digital  systems  that  enable seamless and efficient delivery of public and private services. DPI has been a transformative force in  India's  socio-economic  development,  significantly  enhancing  financial  inclusion,  governance and economic growth.  India's DPI ecosystem comprises key platforms such as Aadhaar, Unified Payments Interface  (UPI),  DigiLocker,  etc  among  others .  Expanding  DPI  in  rural  areas  has been a key priority for India to bridge the digital divide, improve financial inclusion and ensure access to essential government and financial services.

Several  initiatives  have  played  a  crucial  role  in  achieving  this  goal.  These  initiatives  include, Aadhaar which has provided digital identity  to  1.4  billion  people  and  facilitating  e-auth  for  7+ crore  people  on  an  average  on  daily  basis.  DigiLocker  which  is  a  platform  for  issuance  and verification of documents & certificates digitally. DigiLocker has onboarded 50+ crore users and is facilitating seamless access to 924 crore documents. UMANG - unified platform for all Indian Citizens to access pan India digital services ranging from Central to Local Government bodies and other  citizen  centric  services.  Currently,  2,106  services  from  207  Central/State/UT  departments have  been  on-boarded  on  UMANG  platform.  Unified  Payment  Interface  (UPI)  is  the  leading digital payment platform, and it is facilitating 50 crore transactions on daily basis.

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