EU Identifies India as Critical Semiconductor Partner, Cites Skilled Talent Pool
India has emerged as a key partner for the European Union in the semiconductor sector, as the bloc seeks to strengthen its chip supply chains and build domestic capacity through collaboration with trusted allies. This was stated by European Commission Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, during a joint press conference following the third India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting in Brussels.
Virkkunen emphasised India's importance in semiconductor research and development, attributing it to the country's large pool of highly skilled talent. She noted that the EU's Chips 2.0 initiative, adopted in June, focuses on improving supply chain resilience and reducing dependence on any single source. 'We want to build up our own capacity in the European Union, but we also want to work with our trusted partners,' she said.
The semiconductor industry is global, with long and vulnerable supply chains. Diversifying sources is crucial to ensure resilience, Virkkunen added. 'It's important to build better resilience for these supply chains to make sure that we are not dependent on one source... that we have alternatives and we have our own capacity.'
Her remarks came in response to a query about the outcomes of the AI Impact Summit hosted by India and the launch of the Indian government's Semicon 2.0 programme. The programme, with an outlay of about $13.25 billion, aims to boost India's semiconductor ecosystem through chip design, manufacturing, research, and talent development.
Virkkunen praised the AI Impact Summit held in New Delhi, calling it a success and noting that it was the first time discussions centred on ensuring universal access to artificial intelligence technologies. 'AI is a crucial, critical technology of the future,' she said, adding that the EU shares India's vision of making AI trustworthy and beneficial to economies, societies, and citizens.
A joint statement after the TTC meeting confirmed that India and the EU will deepen cooperation in semiconductors, high-performance computing, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, and 6G. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Jitin Prasada highlighted that the Semicon 2.0 programme will focus on chip design, semiconductor equipment and materials, research and development, chemicals and gases, and setting up more fabrication units. 'More manufacturing will come to India, further strengthening our ATMP and OSAT packaging networks,' he said.
