New Delhi, Feb 29 (IANS): India has received over Rs 2.5 lakh crore worth investment proposals in the semiconductor sector, ranging from packaging, design and research and development, the Centre said on Thursday.

Addressing the ‘India Semiconductor and Packaging Ecosystem Conference’ (ISPEC) at SCL Mohali in virtual mode, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said that the country is becoming a significant player in the future of semiconductors.

“We are reaching a milestone where over Rs 2.5 lakh crore worth of investment proposals have been received by the government of India in a spectrum of opportunities," the minister told the gathering.

“We have moved from being almost absent in the semiconductor ecosystem and merely a provider of talent to the global semiconductor majors, to now becoming a destination receiving investments and building significant capacity and capability across the spectrum, from manufacturing to design to systems,” he added.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the government will continue to be focused on attracting investment in semiconductor manufacturing and packaging.

“We have a very deep focus on the research and innovation components of the semiconductor industry. This conference highlights our keen interest in creating a vibrant, robust, and competitive ecosystem centered around innovation, packaging innovation, semiconductor research, chip design, and system design innovation,” said the minister.

Assam will soon have its first-ever semiconductor packaging plant worth nearly Rs 25,000 crore being built jointly by the state government and the Tata Group, he had announced earlier this month.

According to the minister, “What is yet to come is yet to unfold in the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

“The presence of India in the overall semiconductor ecosystem, global ecosystem and the value chain will be significantly bigger, higher, meaningful, and impactful than where it was just two years ago,” he said.