Tata Investing in Talent Pipeline to Power India’s Semiconductor Future, Says Tata Electronics SVP Utpal Shah

By R Anil Kumar

• AI boom drives increased demand for semiconductors: Industry leaders

• India aims to lead the semiconductor industry by leveraging geopolitical advantage, skilled talent, and cost competitiveness, driving economic growth, say tech executives and officials

• Tata Electronics has assembled a leadership team with over 2,000 cumulative years of experience and is collaborating with IITs and IISc Bangalore to train future chip engineers

Bengaluru, March 28. There is a growing significance of semiconductors, particularly driven by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and technologies like ChatGPT, according to industry leaders at the Nano Electronics Roadshow and Conference, hosted at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru.

They observed a sharp uptick in semiconductor consumption, with expectations for substantial growth moving forward. The leaders emphasized that India is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this opportunity, offering advantages such as a favourable geopolitical landscape, a skilled talent pool and cost competitiveness — all of which could drive economic security and job creation.

“Semiconductor is the new oil,” said Utpal Shah, Senior Vice President of Tata Electronics. “With the advent of AI and ChatGPT, the importance of semiconductors has gone up.

It’s truly a hockey stick growth in terms of semiconductor consumption across all aspects of life, and this is only expected to grow substantially moving forward.”

Shah highlighted the critical role of the semiconductor industry in driving both economic security and job creation.

He pointed to examples like Taiwan, where semiconductor output contributes 25 per cent to GDP (gross domestic product), and the U.S., where the industry plays a significant role in economic growth.

Shah also explained the broader strategic importance of semiconductors for defence and digital infrastructure. He emphasized that if India aims to become the third-largest economy and fulfil the vision of “Vikshit Bharat 2047,” semiconductor development is crucial.

Tata Electronics, is investing a total of $14 billion to build India’s first semiconductor fabrication facility in Gujarat state and a chip-assembly and testing facility in the state of Assam.

Tata Electronics Invests in Talent Pipeline to Power India’s Semiconductor Future, Says Tata Electronics’ Utpal Shah

As India moves ahead in its semiconductor ambitions, Tata Electronics is prioritizing workforce development to build a skilled talent pool. The company has assembled a leadership team with over 2,000 cumulative years of experience and is collaborating with IITs and IISc Bangalore to train future chip engineers.

Speaking at Nano Electronics Roadshow   and Conference, here, SVP of Tata Electronics, Utpal Shah, outlined the company’s ambitious plans in India’s semiconductor industry.

He highlighted the establishment of India’s first commercial 12-inch semiconductor fab in Gujarat’s Dholera and the company’s focus on nanoelectronics, technology, and talent development.

Shah stressed that India’s cost competitiveness and environmental sustainability would be key advantages in the global semiconductor market over the next decade.

“We are starting our fab with 100% green power and nearly 100% water recycling,” he said, emphasising that such initiatives would position India as a leader in environmentally conscious manufacturing.

Tata Electronics, launched in May 2020, is currently operating manufacturing sites, with 65,000 employees across 1,800 acres. The Dholera fab, set to produce up to 50,000 wafers per month, aims to cater to India’s growing demand.

The facility will use technology from Taiwan’s PSMC, with whom Tata Electronics forged a partnership last September.

“We are replicating their fab design to accelerate our schedule,” Shah explained, adding that the project enjoys strong government backing 50% funding from the central government, 20% from Gujarat, and 30% equity from Tata.

On the talent front, he pointed to investments in skilling India’s workforce. “We have built a leadership team with over 2,000 cumulative years of experience,” he said, noting collaborations with IITs in Gandhinagar, Guwahati, and Bombay, as well as IISc Bangalore.

“For India’s semiconductor dream, we need a sustained supply of skilled professionals, from fresh graduates to senior experts.”

Beyond the fab, Tata Electronics is making strides in packaging technology. The company’s facility in Bangalore, operational since December 2023, has developed technologies such as Wire Bond, Flipchip, and ISP.

“We are among the first Indian companies to package chips domestically, including India’s first indigenous Shakti microprocessor from IIT Madras,” Shah stated.

A large-scale OSAT facility in Assam, with a $3 billion investment, is slated for high-volume manufacturing by 2026.

Shah stressed the need for deeper industry collaboration, increased venture capital funding, and policy support to accelerate India’s semiconductor ambitions. “This is nothing like what India has done before,” he said.

India needs targeted curriculum tailored programmes for semiconductor Industry

India will have five fabs (semiconductor fabrication plants) by next 10 years, which would need about one lakh skilled professionals, said Utpal Shah, VP at Tata Electronics leading Strategy, Business Development, and Foundry business, on Thursday, March 27.

According to him, this is no trivial issue and needs a targeted workforce, a targeted curriculum and tailored programmes for semiconductor at all levels.

“Our call to action for the universities and academia here is to also think about how we can create more and more tailored programmes for semiconductor at all levels, at the operators and technicians’ level, at the fresh graduates’ level, at the midline managers’ level.

We have to create more and more of these kinds of ready professionals that can immediately jump into our workforce and hit the road running,” added Shah.

He also said semiconductor indigenising and semiconductor manufacturing are very essential for a country like India, adding that Tata Electronics has already started the trend by establishing the very first fab and very first indigenous OSAC.