In this State of the Economy podcast, Sanjana B talks to Jitendra Chaddah, VP and Country Head of India at GlobalFoundries, Ritesh Tyagi, VP and Global Head of VLSI and System Design Services at Wipro Engineering Edge, Sanjeev Malhotra, CEO of the Centre of Excellence for IoT and AI at NASSCOM, and Giri KK, Global Delivery Head of Telecom and Hi-Tech at LTTS on How India is emerging as a semiconductor hub and the way forward.

Jitendra Chaddah, VP and Country Head India at GlobalFoundries, discusses India’s pivotal role in the global semiconductor ecosystem. He emphasises the country’s significant strengths in engineering talent, design services, and innovation. While India has historically been a major consumer of semiconductors, Chaddah points out its potential to become a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing. He stresses that this transition requires focused investment, increased government support, and enhanced industry collaboration.

Ritesh Tyagi, VP and Global Head of VLSI and System Design Services at Wipro Engineering Edge, speaks about India’s growing importance as a hub for semiconductor design and research and development (R&D). He elaborates on the need to develop an end-to-end semiconductor ecosystem, spanning chip design, manufacturing, and packaging. Tyagi also stresses the importance of creating more Intellectual Property (IP) in the semiconductor space, which further strengthens India’s global position in the industry.

Sanjeev Malhotra, CEO of the Centre of Excellence for IoT and AI at nasscom, focuses on how emerging technologies like IoT, AI, and 5G drive increased demand for semiconductors. He highlights that the convergence of these technologies accelerates the growth of India’s semiconductor sector. Malhotra also underlines the importance of fostering public-private partnerships and building the infrastructure needed to support semiconductor manufacturing in India.

Giri KK, Global Delivery Head of Telecom and Hi-Tech at LTTS, addresses the challenges and opportunities in creating a semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in India. He stresses the importance of energy efficiency and sustainability in the manufacturing process. Giri notes that although India possesses the necessary talent and demand, building infrastructure to support large-scale semiconductor manufacturing requires strong policy backing and significant capital investment.

(Host: Sanjana B; Producer: Siddharth Mathew Cherian.)

About the State of the Economy podcast

India’s economy has been hailed as a bright spot amid the general gloom that seems to have enveloped the rest of the world. But several sectors continue to stutter even as others seem set to fire on all cylinders.