New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Cristiano Amon, the Chief Executive Office (CEO) of chip giant Qualcomm, in the United States (US) on Thursday. According to an announcement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the PM discussed investment opportunities in India’s telecom and electronics sectors and the government’s recently announced production-linked incentive schemes for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM).
In addition, the two also discussed developments in India’s semiconductor supply chain and strategies to create a “local innovation ecosystem” in the country.
Modi arrived in Washington on Thursday night on a three-day official visit to the US, the main point of which will be a personal meeting of the leaders of the four quad countries – India, Australia, the US and Japan.
The meeting with Amon was his first engagement after Modi’s arrival.
The Government of India is working on schemes to attract semiconductor companies to the country. In May, Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), had said that the government had received Expression of Interest (EoI) from several semiconductor firms and would come out with a plan for semiconductors in the next six months.
In June, India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) president Rajeev Khushu said the government had received over 20 EOIs from semiconductor firms that want to set up shops in India.
Last month, Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran confirmed that the company is looking to enter the semiconductor sector. “At the Tata Group, we have already entered into many new businesses like electronics manufacturing, 5G network equipment and semiconductors,” Chandrasekaran said while speaking at the IMC Chamber of Commerce’s Annual General Meeting. industry.
Vedanta Group is also interested in forging strategic partnerships that will allow the company to foray into the semiconductor industry. Khushu said that India should focus on special fabs, who play a vital role in power, health and other important sectors.
On Thursday, Modi also met top executives of Adobe, First Solar, General Atomics Global Corporation and Blackstone.
In their meeting with Adobe’s Shantanu Narain, Modi and Narain “discussed Adobe’s ongoing collaboration in India and future investment plans. India’s flagship programs Digital India and Health, The use of emerging technologies in areas such as education and R&D was also discussed.
The conversation with Mark Widmar, CEO of First Solar, focused on India’s plans to generate 450 GW of energy from renewable energy, including solar, the statement said.
“In line with First Solar’s interest in setting up manufacturing facilities in India using its unique thin-film technology by taking advantage of the recently launched Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, as well as integrating India into global supply chains. There was also a discussion about it.”
The meeting between Modi and Vivek Lal, CEO of General Atomics Global Corporation, was focused on “strengthening the defense technology sector in India”. Lal appreciated the recent policy changes to accelerate defense and emerging technology building and capacity building in India,” the statement said.
In his meeting with Blackstone President, CEO and co-founder Stephen Schwarzman, Modi was briefed about “Blackstone’s ongoing projects in India, and his interest in further investments in the infrastructure and real estate sectors. National Infrastructure The promising investment opportunities in India under the pipeline and the National Monetization Pipeline were also discussed,” the statement said.
Modi’s other engagements on Thursday include two bilateral meetings with the prime ministers of Australia and Japan and a meeting with US Vice President Kamala Harris.
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