India, US bodies join hands to boost semiconductor ecosystem

The India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) has partnered with the US Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) to form a private-sector task force. This partnership will strengthen the India-US collaboration and make recommendations to enhance India’s position in the global semiconductor ecosystem.

IESA, a premium industry body for Indian electronics and semiconductor firms, along with SIA which represents 99% of the US semiconductor industry and two-thirds of non-US chip firms, will develop a readiness assessment for the Indian ecosystem. 

“India is already a major hub for semiconductor research, chip design, and equipment engineering, but its future potential is even greater. This task force will help identify tangible ways to unlock this potential by increasing collaboration between the US and India within the global chip ecosystem,” said SIA president and chief executive officer (CEO), John Neuffer.

This task force will bring together industry, government, and academic stakeholders to identify near-time industry opportunities and facilitate the long-term strategic development of complementary semiconductor ecosystems. The task force will make recommendations on opportunities and challenges specific to the Indian ecosystem, work towards talent development and exchange opportunities benefitting both countries.

“It will be an important platform to bring together global resources to identify actionable plans to support India to increase its presence in the worldwide chip industry and then enable global collaboration to execute the plans across all segments of the design and manufacturing supply chain, as well as creating semiconductor talent for the world,” said IESA president and CEO Krishna Moorthy.

The announcement is a part of the US-India Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) initiative launched in May 2022 to expand strategic technology partnership and defence cooperation, involving various stakeholders like governments, businesses, and academic institutions of the two countries.

NSA Ajit Doval and US NSA Jake Sullivan @JakeSullivan46 reviewed ongoing bilateral initiatives, the upcoming launch of Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) and shared assessments of major global and regional developments during a productive meeting. pic.twitter.com/85PwoCqTBj

— India in USA (@IndianEmbassyUS) January 31, 2023

Apart from the IESA-SIA collaboration, the two countries have now announced new bilateral initiatives for innovation in other areas like artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, advanced wireless and next-generation telecommunications, and space, among others.