India to start semiconductor manufacturing and production soon: IT secretary

Electronics and Information Technology Secretary Alkesh Kumar Sharma said on Tuesday that semiconductor production in the country would start very soon.

He was responding to a question regarding the Department of Electronics and Computing’s action plan after state-owned Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) raised the issue of shortages of microchips and circuit boards (PCB or motherboard) hindering the national production of electricity meters.

“India will be one of the 6-7 major partners who will have semiconductor manufacturing. It will happen very soon,” Sharma said.

Speaking at a conference on technology transfer by C-DAC, Thiruvananthapuram for local manufacturing of smart meters and electric chargers, Sharma said Meity has taken the lead in technology development, which he the electronic or automotive sector, artificial intelligence.

“We have taken the lead on the climate change initiative. An important element is the transition to green technology, and electric vehicles are an important mission in this regard. The demand is increasing. We currently need 5,000 chargers in top 20 cities of India ToT for EV will bring immense benefits to the country,” he said.

C-DAC, Thiruvananthapuram under the National Mission on Power Electronics Technology (NaMPET) program has developed a smart energy meter based on Indian standards and suitable for Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).

Sharma said the development of local smart meters will improve metering efficiency, reduce energy consumption, people will get correct bills and benefit electricity distribution companies.

A senior EESL official said it was a transitional phase between conventional smart meters and digital smart meters.

“As of today, we are facing challenges such as hardware components, chips and PCBs (printed circuit boards) are not available due to which we all have to depend on different countries. Thanks to C-DAC for the development of indigenous technology, we will have our own manufacturing. Our own country’s PCB should be there,” the officer said.