During the Bengaluru Tech Summit, industry leaders emphasized India's progress in semiconductor design and innovation but identified a crucial gap in the absence of a comprehensive supply and manufacturing ecosystem. Suraj Rengarajan, CTO of Applied Materials, highlighted the need to establish this ecosystem for India to become a semiconductor powerhouse. While acknowledging the country's design capabilities, he underscored the absence of a manufacturing and supply ecosystem, citing a critical need for a product ecosystem at desirable price points.

Rengarajan shared Applied Materials' commitment to invest $400 million over four years in a new engineering center in Bengaluru. He emphasized the importance of avoiding supply chain crises, referring to challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and called for a strategic supply chain approach in India.

Another concern raised was the sustainability of semiconductor manufacturing, addressing issues such as water scarcity and power availability. Hitesh Garg, Country Manager of NXP Semiconductors, echoed the need for addressing gaps in manufacturing and research. While Bengaluru boasts a large pool of VLSI and design engineers, Garg emphasized the necessity of fostering semiconductor research and collaboration with academic institutes.

Prof Rao Tummala, a semiconductor packaging expert, highlighted India's lack of technology expertise, resources, and infrastructure in the semiconductor space. He stressed the need to bridge these gaps to facilitate progress from design to manufacturing. Rengarajan concluded by emphasizing the growing value of the semiconductor industry, projected to reach $1 trillion in the next six to seven years, and called for efforts to attract talent to the sector.

courtesy by: The Economic Times