Semiconductors are the Next Big Space for India: S Krishnan, MeitY Secy, at the India Digital Summit, 2024

 “Semiconductors is the other big space. More companies are likely to come into the space. And I think that is the space to launch over the next five to ten years. And our interest in semiconductors is open. We have close to 2 million people who are employed in the electronics manufacturing sector, and we'd like to go up to about 4.5 million as well,” said S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India in a fireside chat virtually at the India Digital Summit 2024 (IDS). 

Conversing with Deepak Jacob, Group General Counsel, Dream Sports, on the topic of the country’s digital economy, Shri Krishnan added, “We expect the digital economy to grow at an increasing pace in the next few years. A $2 billion digital economy is what India seriously needs. The combination of emerging technology which will be increasingly applied in multiple sectors, means that the possibility of India furthering this in the development part is something that we should be active in over the next 5 – 10 years. That being the case, and this is just the way that the economy is going to run, technology, digital technology, has all other elements in the economy as well: whether it be manufacturing or various other forms of service delivery.” 

On being asked about governance, hygiene, and compliance with the law for digital platform economies, Shri Krishnan pointed out that regulators, much like the public, recognized the necessity of regulation. While balancing consumer protection and diverse requirements, we thoroughly examine regulations to ensure the safeguarding of user information, he said. In the tech sphere, consistent collaboration among regulators was crucial, he remarked. Similarly, maintaining an ongoing dialogue with companies on various IT aspects is essential, Shri Krishnan opined. The second key aspect involved formulating regulations to ensure compliance, he added.

Shri Krishnan concluded his address by speaking about the Digital India Act and said that efforts were being made to enhance it with additional elements. The ministry was exploring ways to address a significant issue related to the idea and understanding of ideas, where different forms of control are in place, he informed the audience. Some of these controls occasionally generate issues, emphasizing the need for regulation. This will be a key focus in the approach to cybersecurity, the MeitY Secretary said. 

IDS 2024 is being organized by IAMAI in partnership with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), the Union Ministry of Tourism, UIDAI, the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), the Government eMarketplace, In-Space, and Skill India Digital. The Summit is Co-powered by Peak XV and WhistleFEED and Brought to You by META.