Sunday 15 / December / 2024
New York: India is a launching pad of all sorts of technologies and the country now aspires to see 'Made in India' semiconductor chips running devices globally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a large gathering of Indian Americans in New York on the second day of his 3-day visit.
"India is not going to stop now; India is not going to slow down now. India wants more and more devices in the world to run on Made in India chips.," he told the gathering, outlining India's growing manufacturing capacity, particularly in the spheres of electronics and semiconductors.
"The day is not far when you will see Made in India chips here in America as well," the Prime Minister added.
In June, 2023, the Union Cabinet had approved a proposal for setting up a semiconductor unit in Sanand, Gujarat.
"Just a few months after this, the foundation stone of Micron's first semi-conductor unit was also laid. So far, five such units have been approved in India. The day is not far when you will see Made in India chips here in America as well. This small chip will take the flight of developed India to new heights and this is Modi's guarantee," the Prime Minister said.
The government has so far approved five semiconductor units in India, of which construction in two sites is on, and soon the work in the other three will start. They have already made a cumulative investment of almost Rs 1.5 lakh crore. He also spoke about India's innovations in digital public infrastructure, and how its adoption is growing at a rapid pace.
"Now India does not lag behind, it creates new systems and leads. India has given the new concept of digital public infrastructure (DPI) to the world," he said.
PM Modi apprised the community that India's 5G market has now become bigger than America's, and this has happened in just two years.
"Now, India is working on 'Made in India' 6G. This was possible because we made policies to promote this sector. We worked on Made in India technology," he said.
He also apprised the gathering how India has become a key player in mobile manufacturing, from being an importer to an exporter. PM Modi also spoke about India's commitment to climate mitigation, despite being a low emitter.
"Our conviction for reforms is unprecedented. Our Green Energy Transition programme is a good example of it. Despite having 17 per cent of the world's population, India's contribution is only 4 per cent in global carbon emissions. We have no role in destroying the world! We could have supported our growth by burning carbon fuel. However, we chose green energy transition," he said.
At COP26 held in 2021, India committed to an ambitious five-part "Panchamrit" pledge. They included reaching 500 GW of non-fossil electricity capacity, generating half of all energy requirements from renewables, and reducing emissions by 1 billion tonnes by 2030.
India as a whole also aims to reduce the emissions intensity of GDP by 45 per cent. Finally, India commits to net-zero emissions by 2070. India meets a sizable portion of its energy needs through fossil fuels, and various renewable energy sources, are seen as an avenue to reduce the dependence on conventional sources of power.
Later on Sunday, Prime Minister Modi will interact with the CEOs of leading US-based companies to foster greater collaborations between the two countries in the cutting-edge areas of AI, quantum computing, semiconductors, and biotechnology, among others.
