Government Initiatives for Indigenous Chipset Development

The government is focusing on promoting local chipset production to meet demand in various electronic product categories.

Financial Incentives and Schemes

• The government plans to offer targeted financial incentives for chipset development across 25 electronic product categories.
• These incentives fall under the updated design-led incentive (DLI) scheme.
• As of now, 23 chip-design projects have been sanctioned under the ₹1,000 crore DLI scheme initiated in December 2021.
• This scheme is primarily led by domestic startups and MSMEs, focusing on developing indigenous chips and system-on-chip solutions.

Local Sourcing Rules

• The government aims to introduce strict local sourcing rules for certain products like TV sets and air-conditioners.
• Additional products under consideration include energy meters, refrigerators, telecom equipment, and IoT devices.
• Similar rules have been applied to the indigenisation of CCTV equipment supply chain with certifications by the Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification Directorate.

Objectives and Goals

• Ensure demand for indigenously produced chips to support the Indian semiconductor industry.
• Place Indian chips in consumer electronic products as part of the India Semiconductor Mission 2.0.
• Encourage firms to focus R&D on designing and producing chipsets used across consumer products to build expertise.
• The goal is to incrementally increase value addition in manufacturing, aiming for a 15-35% increase post-adoption of Indian chipsets.

Regulatory and Certification Measures

• The Centre may introduce policies to mandate higher usage of domestically manufactured chips in consumer electronics.
• Stricter certification rules for domestically produced electronics are anticipated to ensure security and quality.