Gandhinagar: The 'Modified Semicon India Program' is a part of a larger endeavour to promote manufacturing in India, as part of the 'Make in India' initiative and in line with the vision of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday.

He made the remark while addressing the second day of the ongoing SemiconIndia conference in Gujarat's Gandhinagar on Sunday.

Jaishankar highlighted the nation's strategic vision and ongoing efforts to secure a pivotal role in critical and emerging technology.

Talking about its goal, the EAM said, "You are also deeply familiar with the steadily expanding production of electronic products in the country. It is a natural outcome of the journey of India from being the fifth-largest economy currently to the third largest, which is our current goal. Our strong interest in expanding this aspect of manufacturing is reflected in the Modified Semicon India Program which provides appropriate fiscal incentives. This too is a facet of a larger endeavour to promote manufacturing in India, articulated in the 'Make in India' initiative and the vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat."

The Centre launched the Semicon India Program in December 2021 for the development of the semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in India.

"A more self-reliant India will ipso facto also be more self-reliant in semiconductor production. Similarly, an India that is seeking to enhance both the quality and quantity of its exports and become more deeply embedded in global value chains will also necessarily focus today on the semiconductor domain," the External Affairs Minister added.

At the conference, he also talked about the collaboration between India and US across fields and spheres. He also invoked US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo's India visit in March during which an MoU on the Semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership was concluded.

Jaishankar said during Prime Minister Modi's visit to the US, specific commitments were made with regard to Micron Technology, Lam Research and Applied Materials and they have been the subject of deliberations as well.

"During Prime Minister Modi's State visit to the United States in June 2023, semiconductors were also a focus of the talks with President Biden and his team. As you would be aware, the two leaders chaired a technology round-table with the brand names of the industry. The Joint Statement highlighted this aspect of our cooperation. Three US companies - Micron Technology, Lam Research and Applied Materials - made specific commitments that have been the subject of your deliberations as well. It is essential that these developments are viewed from the larger perspective of India and the United States building a technology partnership for the future," Jaishankar said.

"India's entry as the latest member of the Minerals Security Partnership is worth noting, given the importance today of diversifying and securing supply chains in that area. Similarly, cooperation between the two countries has been a visible tailwind in the sphere of advanced telecommunications. Even as India's 5G rollout starts to gather momentum, it is noteworthy to seek Bharat 6G and the American NextG Alliance co-lead research. Launching Open RAN deployments and participating in the US Rip and Replace Program is also worth noting. This collaboration today extends to new initiatives and additional domains and can be expected to grow steadily," he added.

On Space collaboration, the EAM said India signed the Artemis Accords and promoted stronger ISRO-NASA collaboration. The Innovation Handshake between Indian entities and the National Science Foundation (NSF) holds much promise. So too does the INDUS-X innovation bridge in defence technologies.

Minister Jaishankar underlined the significance of critical and emerging technologies in elevating India's position on the global stage.

Jaishankar said it is an intrinsic element of the knowledge economy that is steadily unfolding and one of its primary characteristics is that it embeds technologies in a manner that profoundly influences all aspects of our lives.

He said, "The depiction of a Chip War may be somewhat overstated, but it has more than a fundamental kernel of truth. To a considerable extent, concerns in the iCET field are influenced by how market shares and production dominance was leveraged in other areas."

"Technology trade is not just trade; it is as much as about political science. The truth is that we are seeing the re-emergence of export controls as a response to strategic assertions of economic strength. How to do business needs to be tempered with where and with whom to do it," he added.