Semiconductor technology to take centre stage at next BGBS

Kolkata: Bengal has been on the threshold of a new advancement in the field of semiconductor technology as the Government of India and the U.S. strengthen their strategic partnership in the field, making Bengal a favourite destination for exploring possibilities.

As Bengal emerges to be a contender to get an opportunity to explore avenues in semiconductor technology, it is expected to bring socio-economic changes in the lives of people of the state.

In the next edition of Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS), one of the main agendas would be how to make necessary advancements in the field of semiconductor technology. A team of technological experts from the U.S. may also be coming to the state. It will create huge employment opportunities in the state.

Chief Secretary Manoj Pant told Millennium Post that the state government is exploring all possibilities. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden recently from Wilmington hailed a landmark arrangement to develop a new advanced semiconductor technology set up in Kolkata.

This joint collaboration is set to boost the semiconductor industry in India and create high-quality jobs in Bengal, rest of India and also in the U.S.

Bengal Chief Minister had earlier said that since early last year, the State IT Dept and PSU Webel approached leading semiconductor industries as many chip-designing & packaging StartUps (sic) had relocated to various Webel IT Parks after the Covid pandemic.

“This year, the State Govt-sponsored Global VLSI Conference 2024, held in Kolkata, witnessed participation of all leading giants from the Semiconductor industries,” Banerjee had said. The Indian government’s “Semiconductor Mission” aims to promote domestic semiconductor manufacturing while the West Bengal government’s “Information Technology and Electronics Policy” encourages electronics manufacturing. Texas Instruments has a design center in Bengaluru, but collaborates with institutions in Bengal. STMicroelectronics has partnered with Indian institutions for research and development.

Several institutions and organizations in Bengal are involved in semiconductor research. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has a dedicated Semiconductor Research Center. Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata offers research programs in materials science and engineering.

Jadavpur University has a department of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering. S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences conducts research in materials science and condensed matter physics while Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science has research groups focused on materials science and nanotechnology.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier this year in Kolkata said that the Trinamool Congress-led Bengal government was not proactive in attracting big-ticket investment. But contrary to the Union Finance minister’s claim, Bengal is going to witness a huge technological advancement in the field of semiconductors. Meanwhile, the Indian chapter of GlobalFoundries (GF), which is a leading semiconductor manufacturer that designs, develops and fabricates integrated circuits for industries has said that as part of global footprint strategy, they are exploring longer-term, cross-border manufacturing, and technology partnerships on essential chips to better serve India’s growing semiconductor chip demand, that’s fueled by India’s exponential growth trajectory. The GF also clarified that they are not, however, setting up any plant here.

Anupam Dutta, an ex-student of IIT Kharagpur who was posted at GF’s headquarters in Bangalore was visiting Kolkata earlier this year when he lauded the Bengal government for its initiative in chip productions. Another GF official, Arunima Dasgupta appreciated the state’s IT infrastructure.