Three years ago, the Indian Government unveiled a policy aimed at establishing semiconductor manufacturing. Given the current global shortage of this product, has this policy yielded any tangible results?
In the first phase of the policy, the Government allocated an incentive of Rs760 billion, which has spurred several Indian and foreign companies to establish facilities in India for the manufacturing and design of semiconductor chips. The Tata Group has set up two units in Gujarat and Assam, with a combined investment of approximately Rs1.2 trillion. It is anticipated that these facilities will produce sophisticated chips and create 50,000 jobs, with each semiconductor job expected to generate ten additional jobs within the ecosystem. A Dutch company has also invested around $1 billion in R&D facilities to boost semiconductor production in India, while a Japanese company has taken advantage of the incentives offered by the Indian Government to engage in value-added semiconductor design activities for the global market.
Encouraged by the positive response from both Indian and global players, the Government has announced a second phase of the semiconductor policy. Although the exact amount of the incentive for this phase is not yet known, it is expected to exceed the Rs760 billion provided in the first phase. The Indian Government is committed to positioning the country as a trusted supplier of advanced chips worldwide, ensuring that every electronic device contains an Indian-made chip.
Electronic transactions are experiencing exponential growth not only in India but across most countries, which has heightened the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. What measures are being taken to mitigate these risks?
The Indian Government is actively supporting the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which has proposed stricter norms for online transactions. The FATF's policy development group is currently deliberating on the amount of information required by law enforcement agencies. There is concern that the masking of information by financial institutions involved in cross-border transactions leads to delays in information sharing. Greater access to data is considered crucial for tracking and acting against those who violate the system.
Given the threat of terror financing to India, the Government has sought to tighten regulations to prevent potential misuse. India has supported FATF's efforts to tighten norms for various sectors, including virtual digital asset players, gems and jewellery dealers, and real estate developers, where FATF identifies scope for tax evasion and money laundering. Industry players have expressed concerns that these changes will increase compliance costs due to the need for software and protocol adjustments.
India boasts a wealth of talent in software development, yet millions of Indians are not fluent in English. Will this linguistic barrier hinder growth?
Artificial intelligence is dismantling language barriers and fostering an inclusive coding environment. This enables non-English speaking developers to contribute significantly to the open-source coding community and the broader programming world. AI tools, such as those on the GitHub platform, are democratizing collaboration models, tapping into a vast pool of coding talent that will drive technological progress and innovation globally. Currently, India is estimated to have around 15 million developers, up from 5.8 million in 2021. It is projected that by 2027, the developer community in India on GitHub will surpass that of the United States, making India the largest nation of software developers and fueling enormous economic opportunities.
