Semiconductor CEOs laud India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership at SEMICON India 2024

By R Anil Kumar

New Delhi, September 11. The top leadership of global semiconductor giants who are taking part in SEMICON India-2024, were all praise to PM Narendra Modi’s leadership and his vision of making India a technology hub.

CEO of SEMI, Mr Ajit Manocha applauded the reception received at SEMICON India 2024 and highlighted the two key words – ‘unprecedented’ and ‘exponential’. He mentioned the unprecedented scale of the event and the coming together of more than 100 CEOs and CXOs from all over the world representing the total electronic supply chain for Semiconductors.

Manocha expressed optimism about the commitments of the industry to becoming India’s trusted partner in the journey to creating a Semiconductor hub for the benefit of the country, world, industry and humanity.

Referring to the exponential model of growth in India as Prime Minister Modi’s law, Manocha said that the semiconductor industry is foundational to every industry in the world, more importantly for humanity.

He expressed confidence in working for the 1.4 billion people of India and 8 billion people of the world.

President and CEO of Tata Electronics, Dr Randhir Thakur thanked the Prime Minister for making this historic gathering possible and lauded his vision to bring the semiconductor industry to the Indian shores. He recalled the Prime Minister laying the foundation stone of India’s first commercial fab in Dholera and first Indigenous OSAT factory in Jagiroad, Assam on the 13th of March this year and said that both the projects received approval from the government in record time.

He credited the outstanding say-do ratio and collaboration demonstrated by the India Semiconductor Mission consistent with the Prime Minister’s message of operating with a sense of urgency. Throwing light on the 11 ecosystem areas crucial to chipmaking, Dr Thakur said that the efforts of the Government have brought all these ecosystems under one roof here at SEMICON 2024.

He credited the Prime Minister’s global outreach and emphasis on India’s semiconductor mission for establishing key partnerships with ecosystem players to further growth.

Dr Thakur assured the Prime Minister that the semiconductor industry will become the bedrock of the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 and it will have a multiplier effect on job creation. He concluded by quoting the Prime Minister and said, “This is the moment, the right moment” as he credited the leadership and vision of the Prime Minister in making India’s semiconductor dream a reality.

CEO of NXP Semiconductors, Mr Kurt Sievers expressed his excitement and humbleness to being a part of SEMICON 2024 and said that the event marks a transformational journey for India.

Highlighting the three attributes for success namely ambition, trust and collaboration, he said that an event like today’s marks the beginning of collaboration. He shed light on the transformation witnessed in India and said that the work is not only being done in India for the world but for the country as well.

He also touched upon the multiplier effect that the semiconductor industry has on other sectors and said that it will propel India to becoming an extremely powerful economy in the next few years. He informed about doubling the R&D efforts by NXP above a billion dollars. He credited the Prime Minister for incorporating the three elements of innovation, democracy and trust which are needed by businesses to work in the long run.

CEO of Renesas, Mr Hidetoshi Shibata congratulated the Prime Minister for such a successful and commemorative event at SEMICON India 2024. He said that it has been a privilege to partner with such a renowned institution and establish one of India’s first assembly and test facilities in Gujarat.

Mr Shibata informed that the construction of a pilotline is already underway and also spoke about expanding activities and operational presence in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Noida.

He also mentioned doubling the head-count in India by sometime next year to shoulder a lot more of the value-added advanced semiconductor design activities for the Indian as well as the global market. He expressed excitement about bringing the Semiconductor technology to India to make the Prime Minister’s goal a reality.

CEO of IMEC, Mr Luc Van Den Hove congratulated the Prime Minister for SEMICON 2024 and said that his vision and leadership provide a clear path for India to boost semiconductor manufacturing. Referring to the Prime Minister’s commitment to set up and invest in a longer-term R&D strategy, Mr Hove said that it is extremely important for the industry. He assured that IMEC is ready to form a strong and strategic partnership to support the Prime Minister’s ambitious plans. Underlining the need for a reliable supply chain, Mr Hove said, “Who can be a better-trusted partner than the world’s largest democracy”.