India will start semiconductor manufacturing soon, Production: IT Secretary

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

He was responding to an inquiry about the action plan of the Ministry of Electronics and IT after state-owned Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) raised the issue of shortages of electronic chips and printed circuit boards (PCB or motherboard) hampering domestic production of electricity meters.

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

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

“We have taken a leadership role in the climate change initiative. A big component is the shift to green technologies and EV is an important mission. The demand is increasing. We currently need 5,000 chargers in the top 20 cities in India. ToT for electric vehicles will bring immense benefits to the country,” he said.

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

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

A senior EESL official said it is a transition period from traditional smart meters to digital smart meters.

“We still face challenges such as hardware components, crisps and PCBs (printed circuit boards) are not available, which is why we all depend on different countries. Thanks to C-DAC for developing domestic technology, we will have our own manufacturing. Our own country PCB should be there,” the official said.