Govt Forms Advisory Committee, For Semicon India

The government has formed an advisory committee to drive the Rs 72,000-crore project, Semicon India, to make the country a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing, design and innovation, an official statement said on Wednesday.

The panel formed under the chairmanship of electronics and telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw includes venture capitalist Vinod Dham, who led Intel's iconic Pentium microprocessor from inception, and Arogyaswami Paulraj, who invested in MIMO wireless communication that is used in 4G technology. "The newly-formed Advisory Committee shall steer the objectives in a structured, efficient, and strategic manner, and provide necessary guidance to the ISM executives.

It shall also provide insights and suggestions to develop a sustainable semiconductor and Display ecosystem in India," the statement said. The committee is mandated to provide key inputs for building a resilient supply chain, promoting investments, financing mechanisms, global engagement, research and innovation, and IP generation for the semiconductors and display ecosystem and enable an ecosystem to support startups and MSMEs.

Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who will be vice-chairperson of the panel, said, "Partnership between the government, industry and academia to power the India semiconductor mission." The other members of the panel include Niti Ayog member VK Saraswat, electronics and IT secretary, foreign secretary, expenditure secretary, economic affairs secretary, DIPP secretary, deputy national security advisor. The representatives from industry and academia include industry body Semi CEO Ajit Manocha, Pradeep Khosla, designer of India's first indigenously developed microprocessor 'Shakti' V Kamakoti, Credit Suisse Co-head of Asia Pacific Strategy and India Equity Strategist for Credit Suisse Neelkanth Mishra and HCL co-founder Ajai Chowdhry.

(PTI)