Question-1:  Explain the role of national semiconductor mission in providing impetus to domestic manufacturing and improving India’s export potential.

Answer:  The Government of India has been aggressively promoting semiconductor manufacturing in India through the national semiconductor mission. The main reason for the mission was the supply chain issues observed during the pandemic.

Role in boosting manufacturing

• Electronic goods production
  Semiconductors are used in semiconductor chips, which is a major component in manufacturing electronic goods such as mobiles and computers.
• Automobile production
  Automobile production in India took a hit due to shortage of semiconductor chips. If semiconductor chips production grows, automobile manufacturing will also increase.
• IoT products
  Internet of Things has become popular in recent times due to its vast potential. All IoT products run on semiconductor chips.

Improving India’s export

• Export semiconductor chips
  The world has witnessed shortage of chips for electronic goods due to shutdown of factories. As production increases, export potential also increases.
• Production linked incentives
  The production linked incentives scheme is applicable for semiconductor chips manufacturing. To get incentives, companies increase production. This will benefit exports.

Thus, the PLI scheme can be made more efficient so that India can become a leader of semiconductor chips. This will benefit both domestic companies and international groups.

Tags: GS 3 ( Industrial policy)

By:  Raghunandan