Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates Micron’s facility in Gujarat’s Sanand

SANAND: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday that India’s semiconductor strategy was focused on building a complete ecosystem across the country, as he addressed the start of a commercial production at Micron’s semiconductor assembly and test facility in Gujarat’s Sanand.

Speaking at the event, PM Modi said the semiconductor ecosystem “does not consist of just one factory” but includes engineers, design engineers, research institutions, logistics networks and skilled technicians.

“India is also focusing on the value chain of the semiconductor ecosystem. In this year’s Union Budget, we have announced the India Semiconductor Mission 2.0. The aim is that as production increases, the demand for materials, components and services will increase in India. This is the biggest opportunity. Another big advantage of India is our manufacturing ambitions,” he added.

He noted that under the Semicon India programme, a total of 10 projects had been approved so far. “Apart from Micron, three more projects are going to start production very soon. And the semiconductor ecosystem that we are building is not limited to any one region. This is pan-India. That is, new tech hubs of Viksit Bharat are being developed in every part of the country,” Prime Minister Modi said.

Describing the strategic significance of semiconductor chips, the Prime Minister said: “If the regulator of the last century was oil, then the regulator of this century is going to be microchip. With this thought, India has decided to move ahead rapidly in the semiconductor sector. Please remember, when the world was struggling with Covid, India had announced the semiconductor mission.”

He added that the 20th century had been shaped by the industrial revolution and mass production, while the current century would be defined by artificial intelligence.

“The world has seen the Industrial Revolution till the 20th century. The countries that were ahead in factories, machines and mass production at that time developed rapidly. But this century is the century of the AI revolution. Semiconductor is the major bridge of this change. A small chip connects the Industrial Revolution and the AI revolution,” the Prime Minister said. (IANS)

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