India and Japan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a joint mechanism which will be overseeing collaboration between the two countries in the manufacturing, design and development of semiconductors, said Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav.
“The MoU is on five fronts, viz. semiconductor design, manufacturing, equipment research, talent development, and bringing resilience to the semiconductor supply chain,” said Minister Vaishnav.
“The two countries will establish an implementation organization to decide on collaboration on government-to-government and industry-to-industry fronts,” he added.
Japan’s Rapidus Corp., which is one of the leading semiconductor manufacturer will be playing a major role in this MoU as per the Union Minister Vaishnav in his press briefing. Other companies includes SoftBank, Sony and Toyota.
“Rapidus will be playing a role in focusing on the full value chain, instead of what other countries are doing, which is emphasizing only on fabrication. With Japan, we usually have detailed discussions and once the agreement is signed, it goes on for years,” he further added.
Ashwini Vaishnav also said that for a long time Japan has been a leader in the semiconductor industry, he said, “they lead silicon wafer and ingot manufacturing. In raw materials too, such as chemicals and gases they have a lead. In equipment manufacturing, especially lens, Tokyo Electron is a big company.”
“India can be pitched as a raw materials supplier for semiconductors. Dahej in Gujarat can be hub for the supply of raw materials to global corporations.” he added.