Why’s the world going gaga on Bharat – United States deal on security semiconductors? The first security semiconductors development and fabrication plant to be set up by Bharat in collaboration with the US would give the country huge heft in advanced sensing, communication and high voltage power electronics relating to military hardware in the war theatre. This multi-material chips production plant will provide extra security cover for Bharat from her adversaries in South and South East Asia, including China and Pakistan, in futuristic wars.
The Wilmington deal announced by President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has huge significance in terms of signalling Bharat’s rivals.
If initial reactions were to be gauged, the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping are weary of this key deal clinched on Sunday during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US.
Accordingly, India Semiconductors Mission will support Bharat Semi, 3rditech partnership with US Space Force and General Atomics. Manufacture of infra-red, gallium nitride and silicon carbide semiconductors will go a long way in our security paradigm.
Some analysts have likened the security semiconductors deal to the civil nuclear treaty that would take Bharat’s security apparatus to yet another notch above. Communist friends across the spectrum within and outside the country are bound to cry foul and ‘sell off’ to the US, as was the case in the civil nuclear treaty that virtually dislodged the then Manmohan Singh Government.
This deal is definitely centrepiece of Prime Minister Modi’s latest United States visit, which is being opposed by Bharat’s foes from within and outside. There’s no reason why Bharat should be spending US dollarsr one billion annually on just procuring security semiconductor chips each yea,r given her technology prowess and innovation capabilities. Setting up the Global Foundries facility at Kolkata Power Centre as part of the Indo-US deal again would expand capacities to manufacture chips.
The deal also marks moving away from China for the semiconductors value chain, especially for commercial and production purposes.
Bharat’s thrust on semiconductors would open up new opportunities for international players to produce the chips for industrial applications, etc., in the country. Bharat has deftly partnered with companies in US, Europe, Taiwan and Singapore to annually produce high quality chips.
About Rs 1.5 lakh crore is being invested to produce seven crore chips each day. This is part of the larger objective to set up alternative supply chains moving away from expansionist China.
Four such fabrication plants are being built by Bharat to make it emerge among the top five players globally. While two facilities for semiconductor chips are being set up in Sanand, Gujarat, by Kaynes Semicon and CG Power, the other two will be set up in Dhadera, Gujarat, and Moregaon, Assam, through Tata Electronics.
Way back in 2021, Bharat zeroed-in on the potential for setting up a new semiconductors ecosystem. To encourage semiconductor chip production, processes, development and evolution of the entire ecosystem, Bharat had decided to provide focused Rs 76,000 crore support through a production-linked incentive scheme.
By 2030, the semiconductors market in Bharat is expected to expand to US dollar 109 billion against prevailing dollar 38 billion business opportunities. Semiconductors are high-impact business activity. It will not only add billions of dollars to the country’s GDP, it has serious potential to create millions of high-skilled jobs. Import dependence will not only be reduced, but eventually, Bharat will become a net supplier of semiconductor chips for sectors across the spectrum, including industrial applications, automobiles and the mobile industry.
Power supply, industrial zones and logistics-related infrastructure will also get a leg up, given the pipeline for multitude of deals that Bharat has created in last few years. Specialized education programmes and new skills development initiatives must evolve as the demand for semiconductor specialists goes up organically.
Electronics manufacturing, telecommunications and automotive industry expansion is bound to happen once assured supply of semiconductors was to be created.
Arc of geo-political influence for Bharat is bound to expand given semiconductors importance in security apparatus and future wars or conflicts. Already, a huge network of start-ups in semiconductors business has sprung up to take up innovative projects. Setting aside past failures, it’s now that Bharat has to take a leap!
