India, Japan Sign MoU For Semiconductor Development

The government of India and Japan signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of a semiconductor ecosystem.

"Japan and India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for semiconductor manufacturing, research, design, talent development, and supply chain resilience," Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, in a press briefing in New Delhi on Thursday.

India has had multiple rounds of discussion with the Japanese government, and the two countries will create an "implementation organisation soon to discuss industry-to-industry and government-to-government collaboration", he said.

Japan’s Rapidus Corp., which is a semiconductor manufacturer established with the support of eight major Japanese companies—including SoftBank, Sony, and Toyota—will play a major role in this MoU, Vaishnaw said.

“Rapidus will be playing a role in focusing on the full value chain, instead of what other countries are doing, which is emphasising only on fabrication. With Japan, we usually have detailed discussions and once the agreement is signed, it goes on for years," he said.

For a long time, Japan had a lead in the semiconductor industry, Vaishnaw said. "They led silicon wafer and ingot manufacturing. In raw materials, too, such as chemicals and gases, they have a lead. In equipment manufacturing, especially lens, Tokyo Electron is a big company," he said, explaining the rationale behind an agreement with Japan.

"India can be pitched as a raw material supplier for semiconductors. Dahej in Gujarat can be a raw material supplier hub for global corporations," he said.