Calling it a special day for India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three chip manufacturing facilities worth Rs 1.25 lakh crore on Wednesday. These centers are being set up with an aim to make India self-sufficient in chip manufacturing, an integral part of electronic technology. The plants will be set up at Dholera and Sanand in Gujarat and Morigaon in Assam. These centers will be operational within 100 days. Advancement in technology is the greatest feature of this century. Semiconductors are the brains of modern electronics. Self-sufficiency in chip manufacturing is essential for India to compete globally with other countries in terms of technology.

It will serve as a critical machine part to enable countless technological devices, from national security and health security to computer manufacturing. Semiconductors are very small in size. Moreover, they require very little electrical energy to operate. Their construction will accelerate the development of the country. Chips manufactured at Dholera will hit the market in 2026. India is expected to become the fifth powerhouse in chip manufacturing by 2029. The operation of these plants will lead to employment of 20,000 people directly and 60,000 people indirectly. Microchips, microcontrollers, computer processors, etc., in all electronic devices will be manufactured. India used to import all these from other countries for many years.

The invention and manufacture of semiconductors played a crucial role in the growth of America. America is the leading country in the world in its construction, design, and research. American companies control half of the semiconductor sales in the global market. The fact that India can manufacture them at a relatively low cost will be a factor that boosts the potential of Indian semiconductors in the global market. Moreover, the main reason why graduates from technical institutes in India migrate abroad is that there are few sectors like semiconductor manufacturing here. The growth of this sector will also lead to better-paying jobs in India itself.

India used to import the largest number of semiconductors from China. About 27,000 crore rupees had to be spent on this every year. If they can be sold to India at a lower price than China in the future, India's export earnings will skyrocket. The Prime Minister said that India learned the necessity of self-sufficiency in the chip sector from the shortage during the Covid period. After Covid, many of China's losses are turning into India's gains. Any country becomes an economic power when it achieves self-sufficiency in all important sectors. Semiconductor manufacturing plants confirm that India is on that path.