Government to invest $10 bn in chip manufacturing units

New Delhi, March 27 (IANS) The government would invest $10 billion in chip manufacturing facilities coming up in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, where a consortium of firms are to set up the production bases.

"India would also be investing $400 million in developing an Indian version of micro-processor. These are part of the initiatives that are under way to create an eco-system that lays focus on high ended innovation," R.S. Sharma, secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) said on Thursday while addressing the first Indian Electronics Expo organised by Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council.

A dedicated Electronics Development Fund had been created to leverage the use of venture capital funds to promote more start-ups in the country, he added.

Infrastructure for chip manufacturing and designing will be considerably strengthened in India to cater to the growing domestic demand and to cut down the imports in the next few years, he said.

Sharma said India provided an exciting hub for electronics investment mainly on account of the surging domestic market and infrastructure, logistics and financial support being provided to the investors, whether they are from India or abroad.

He mentioned that Make in India coupled with Digital India program initiated recently by the government, can renew the interest in electronics production in the country and can help India achieve the target set for zero import of electronics into the country by 2020.

The expo is attended by over 125 delegates from 26 countries.

More than 30 Indian companies are displaying their electronics hardware products at the two-day expo.