Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sought to position India as the most trusted global manufacturing hub for the semiconductor industry, underlining the abundance of opportunities in the country.

”India does not disappoint. The country’s democracy, demography and dividend will double and triple the businesses in India,” he said while inaugurating SemiconIndia 2023 at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. The theme of the conference is ‘Catalysing India’s Semiconductor Ecosystem’.

Recalling the participation in the first edition of Semicon last year, the PM highlighted the questions raised at the time about investing in India in the semiconductor industry. The questions that were doing rounds at that time have transformed over a period of one year from ‘Why invest in India’ to ‘Why not invest in India’, he noted. “There has been a directional change due to the efforts of the industry leaders,” Modi said.

He said the industry leaders have conjoined the aspirations and the capability of India with their own future and dreams.

Modi said India was witnessing phenomenal growth in the digital and electronic manufacturing sector. He informed that India’s share in global electronic manufacturing has increased manifold. In 2014 India’s electronic manufacturing was less than $30 billion, which has crossed $100 billion. The export of electronics and mobile devices has doubled in the last two years.

Throwing light on the technological developments in India post 2014, the PM informed that there were only two mobile manufacturing units in India before 2014 whereas today, this number has gone beyond 200. He also informed that the number of broadband users in the country increased from 6 to 80 crore while the number of internet connections rose from 25 crores to more than 85 crores.

Referring to these statistics, he emphasised that it not only signified India’s progress but was also an indicator for growing businesses in the country. He highlighted the crucial role of India in the semicon industry’s target of exponential growth.

“The world is witnessing the Industry 4.0 revolution today,” Modi remarked as he noted that the basis for any industrial revolution in the world was the aspirations of the people in that particular sector. “Industrial Revolutions in the past and the American Dream had the same relationship,” he said as he drew an analogy between the Industry 4.0 revolution and Indian aspirations, adding Indian aspirations were the driving force behind the development of India.

“The growing neo-middle class of India has become the powerhouse of Indian aspirations,” the PM said and underlined that the chip-making industry was a market filled with opportunities. He expressed confidence that those who begin early were bound to get a first-mover advantage over others.

Referring to the side effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, the PM said that the world needed a reliable supply chain. “Who can be a more trusted partner than the world’s largest democracy?” he wondered.

He also expressed happiness about the growing global trust in India. “Investors trust India as it has a stable, responsible and reform-oriented government. The industry has faith in India as infrastructure is developing in every sector. The tech sector believes in India as technology is growing here. The Semiconductor Industry trusts India as we have a massive talent pool,” he said.

“Skilled engineers and designers are our strength. Anyone who wants to be a part of the world’s most vibrant and unified market has faith in India. When we tell you to make in India, it also includes that let’s make for India, Make for the world,” he added.

The PM said India was also fully aware of its global responsibilities and was working on a comprehensive roadmap with friendly countries.