India And Japan Sign MoU To Develop Semiconductor Industry Earlier the government signed a similar MoU with the US in March 2023
By Teena Jose
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India and Japan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on semiconductor development, which will include design, manufacturing, equipment research and talent development. This is the second such partnership, earlier the government signed a similar MoU with the US in March 2023.
Minister of Electronic and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government had multiple rounds of discussions with the Japanese industry, the Japanese government and Japanese academia and then reached the decision.
"Rapidus, a Japan corp, will be playing a role in focusing on the full value chain, instead of what other countries are doing, which is emphasising only fabrication. With Japan, we usually have detailed discussions and once the agreement is signed, it goes on for years," said the minister.
"India semiconductor missions are progressing at a very fast pace step by step. We are achieving new milestones. Today a very important milestone has been achieved," added Vaishnaw
As per the minister, the MoU is on five fronts, viz. semiconductor design, manufacturing, equipment research, talent development, and bringing resilience to the semiconductor supply chain.
"The agreements such as the U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) and the one with Japan provided clear directional support when industries from the respective nations engage in talks. The government's strategy is now evidently focused on supporting industries in India, whether collaborating with the US or Japan," he added.
The government announced a $10 billion crore PLI incentive in December 2021 to develop a semiconductor ecosystem in the country.
