India and Japan cooperate on semiconductor supply chain
The Union Cabinet of the Government of India, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has released an official statement approving a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on Japan-India Semiconductor Supply Chain Partnership. The MoC was signed in July this year between the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan.
The MoC recognises the importance of semiconductors for the advancement of industries and digital technologies, and is intended to strengthen cooperation between India and Japan towards the enhancement of the semiconductor supply chain and its resilience. The official statement said that the MoC shall remain effective for a period of five years from the date it was signed.
This news follows the announcement of a new Silicon Photonics Research Centre of Excellence at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), launched by MeitY. IIT Madras said the centre will provide essential training to bolster the future ecosystem of PIC manufacturing in India, and is actively developing indigenous PIC design rules and hardware infrastructure for precision packaging for system-level applications.
The official statement added that MeitY has been actively working to create a conducive environment for electronics manufacturing through the Programme for Development of Semiconductor and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem in India. The programme aims to support the establishment of semiconductor fabs, display fabs, fabs for compound semiconductors, silicon photonics, sensors, and discrete semiconductors, as well as facilities for semiconductor assembly, testing, marking, and packaging.
The statement also said that MeitY has been mandated to promote international cooperation in the emerging and frontier areas of Information Technology under bilateral and regional frameworks, to promote bilateral cooperation and exchange of information, and also to ensure supply chain resilience, enabling India to emerge as a trusted partner.
