Tamil Nadu to come up with semiconductor policy during investors meet

To enhance its reputation as the electronics export hub of India, the government of Tamil Nadu is set to unveil the Tamil Nadu Semiconductor and Advanced Electronics Policy at the upcoming Global Investors' Meet, to be held here on January 7 and 8. The policy may concentrate more on the design aspects of semiconductors, which are of high value.

The government is expecting a record investment during the investors' meeting. According to sources, this is likely to bolster the state’s status as India's export hub. After nearly tripling its electronics exports in the financial year 2022-23, Tamil Nadu is poised to reinforce its presence as an electronics exporter in FY24 by surpassing the $8 billion mark, an increase of around 49 per cent from $5.37 billion last year. This achievement comes at a time when the state has already achieved exports of $4.8 billion, contributing 31 per cent of India's total exports.

 

A major reason for the increase in exports is the ‘China Plus One’ strategy adopted by global majors like Apple, prompting its contractors such as Foxconn and Pegatron and suppliers like Salcomp to contribute to Tamil Nadu's emergence as the country’s electronic hub last year. “In the semiconductor industry, the majority of the value addition comes from design, approximately 20-30 per cent, and hence we are focusing on it,” a source said. “Everybody is talking about fabrication, and our focus is on design,” he added.

The two previous editions of the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet (GIM) witnessed investments of Rs 2.42 trillion in proposed investments in 2015 and Rs 2 trillion in 2019. The current edition includes around nine partner countries and over 30 participating countries. This is expected to be crucial in achieving the state’s goal of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2031.

According to a Deloitte report, to reach this 2031 target, approximately $598 billion in investment is likely to come from the manufacturing sector, followed by $430 billion in electricity, gas, water supply, etc., and $396 billion from agriculture.