The Union Government will have a shortlist of firms that expressed interest in setting up semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities in the country.
Recommendations of the Empowered Committee, which is studying the proposals from top global firms, will be available in five months, Dr Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary in Department of IT and Communication (Government of India), said.
“We will have the first wafer fab facility ready in two years. This will spur the eco system,” he said.
The Government set up the committee to identify potential investors and assess and recommend the right candidate firms to establish the units in India. It would also come out with the nature of sops the Government would offer to such fab units.
Dr Ajay Kumar was here to address a CII workshop on new policy initiatives and investment opportunities in electronics hardware industry.
The demand for electronics goods in the country in 2011-12 stood at $69.6 billion, with less than half of this sourced locally. With studies pegging the demand at $400 billion and local production at $100 billion by 2020, the country is expected to import goods and components worth $300 billion. “If you leave out the value addition part, this would further go up to $350 billion,” he said.
The industry is expected to generate 2.78 crore jobs by 2022 from 80 lakh in 2011. Telecom sector alone would employ 48 lakh jobs (10 lakh). Exports would go up to $80 billion from $8 billion during this period.
The electronics hardware industry has asked the Centre to announce a tax holiday for the industry to help it grow. “We need tax sops similar to that given to the IT services industry,” Mr N. Shiva Prasad, President of the Electronics Industry Association of Andhra Pradesh, said.
He said the growth of the electronics hardware industry had lagged behind the IT services industry.