Content

1. India’s Semiconductor Revolution
2. National Cooperation Policy 2025

India’s Semiconductor Revolution

Semiconductors: The Strategic Core of Modern Electronics

• Semiconductors power everything: smartphones, satellites, electric vehicles, smart TVs, defence systems (e.g., Aakash-Teer).
• Function: Store, process, and transfer data using micro-scale transistors (millions to billions).
• Example: Chandrayaan-3’s Vikram Lander used Indian semiconductor tech & AI for autonomous landing.

Relevance : GS 3(Technology) ,GS 2(Governance)

Why Semiconductor Industry Matters Globally

• Geopolitical urgency: Global chip shortage post-COVID & Ukraine war crippled auto, telecom, and electronics industries.
• Concentration risk:
  • Taiwan: 60% of global chip production; 90% of advanced chips.
  • Strategic chokepoint → Geopolitical & economic vulnerability.
• Nations pushing self-reliant chip ecosystems: US, EU, Japan, South Korea, China.

India’s Strategic Entry into the Chip Race

• India seeks to tap the $1 trillion global chip market by 2030.
• Focus: End-to-end capability across design → fabrication → testing/packaging.
• Indian Market Size Projection:
  • 2023: $38 billion
  • 2025: ~$50 billion
  • 2030: $100–110 billion

Key Initiatives Driving India’s Semiconductor Ambitions

India Semiconductor Mission (ISM)

• Launched: Dec 2021
• Outlay: ₹76,000 crore
• Objective: Position India as a global hub for electronics & chip design.
• Mission Pillars:
  • Build fabs, packaging/testing units
  • Enable design startups via EDA tools
  • Create skilled engineers in VLSI, chip architecture
  • Facilitate ToT & R&D hubs
  • Secure supply chains: raw materials, gases, IP

Major Schemes Under ISM

₹234 Cr already committed for 22 chip design projects (CCTV, mobiles, satellites, IoT, vehicles).

Skill Development & Talent Pipeline

• Target: Train 85,000 chip design engineers.
• AICTE curriculum for VLSI & IC manufacturing.
• SMART Lab (NIELIT Calicut): Trained 44,000 engineers.
• 100 institutes → 45,000+ students enrolled in chip design programs.

Collaborators: Lam Research, IBM, Purdue, Micron, IIT Roorkee, IISc.

Major Investments in India’s Semiconductor Infrastructure

May 2025: HCL–Foxconn approved to produce display driver chips (20K wafers/month capacity).

India’s First Advanced Chip Design Centres (May 2025)

• Locations: Noida and Bengaluru
• Focus: 3-nanometer chip design
• Significance: Pushing beyond previous 5nm & 7nm designs.

SEMICON India Programme

• Flagship platform to showcase India’s global chip ambitions.
• Editions:
  • 2022: Bangalore
  • 2023: Gandhinagar
  • 2024: Greater Noida
  • 2025: Sept 2–4, New Delhi (Yashobhoomi, IICC)

➤ Highlights of SEMICON India 2025

• 300+ exhibitors from 18 countries
• 4 International Pavilions: Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia
• 8 Country Roundtables for strategic collaboration
• Dedicated Workforce Development Pavilion – Target: 1 million new jobs by 2030
• Design Startup Pavilion to support innovation
• Participation from 9 State Governments (up from 6)

Recent Developments (2025 Highlights)

• First indigenous chip to enter production in 2025 (announced at Global Investors Summit).
• Netrasemi, a chip-design startup under DLI, raised ₹107 Cr VC funding.
• Madhya Pradesh launched its first IT hardware hub with ₹150 Cr investment, producing chips, drones, robotics hardware.

Strategic Impact and Way Forward

Strategic Leverage

• Reduces dependency on Chinese and Taiwanese chip ecosystem.
• Enhances India’s digital sovereignty, cyber-security, and economic competitiveness.
• Integral to programs like Digital India, defence modernization, and smart infrastructure.

Economic and Industrial Gains

• Create 1M skilled jobs by 2030.
• Add significantly to $300 billion electronics manufacturing goal by 2026.
• Position India as a global trusted supplier in chip value chain.

Challenges Ahead

• High capital intensity: Setting up a fab = ~$10B+ investment.
• Ensuring uninterrupted supply of ultrapure water, chemicals, rare earths.
• Global competition: Catching up with TSMC, Samsung, Intel in design/fab tech.

Conclusion

India’s semiconductor journey is transitioning from policy intent to production capability. With robust funding, strong partnerships, talent development, and strategic diplomacy, India is no longer just a consumer but a rising semiconductor power. From design to fabs, the India Semiconductor Mission is turning Bharat into the brain behind the chips.

National Cooperation Policy 2025

Contextual Backdrop: Why NCP 2025 Was Needed

• Last Policy Update in 2002: Became outdated in light of digitization, globalization, climate imperatives, and youth aspirations.
• Creation of Ministry of Cooperation (2021): Signaled renewed political and administrative focus on cooperatives.
• Participatory Drafting: 48-member Suresh Prabhu-led committee held 17 consultations and 4 regional workshops; gathered 648 stakeholder inputs from federations, state depts, experts.

Relevance : GS 2(Governance ) , GS 3(Cooperatives)

India’s Cooperative Landscape (2025 Snapshot)

• 8.44 lakh cooperatives, of which:
  • ~2 lakh credit cooperatives (PACS, UCBs)
  • ~6 lakh non-credit cooperatives (dairy, fisheries, housing, etc.)
• 30+ crore members (largest cooperative membership globally).
• India accounts for >25% of the world’s cooperatives.
• Massive footprint in agriculture, rural finance, housing, and marketing.

Vision & Mission

• Vision: Enable cooperatives to power India’s transformation into Viksit Bharat by 2047 through Sahkar-se-Samriddhi.
• Mission: Build legal, financial, and tech ecosystems to make cooperatives professional, transparent, inclusive, and market-ready.

Six Strategic Pillars – Foundation of NCP 2025

1. Strengthening Foundations: Legal reform, digital records, governance, PACS revival.
2. Promoting Vibrancy: Model cooperative villages, branding, cluster development.
3. Future-Readiness: Cooperative stack, ONDC-GeM integration, tech incubators.
4. Inclusive Growth: Gender, SC/ST, youth representation and model bye-laws.
5. Sectoral Diversification: Cooperatives in health, clean energy, waste, logistics.
6. Youth for Cooperatives: HEI curricula, digital literacy, employment exchange.

Legal and Institutional Reforms

• Encourage states to align State Cooperative Societies Acts with NCP vision.
• Digital registries: Real-time cooperative tracking to reduce fraud, enhance governance.
• Institutional revival package for sick cooperatives.

Financial Empowerment

• Strengthen 3-tier rural credit structure: PACS → DCCB → SCB.
• Push for umbrella organizations like National Urban Cooperative Finance Corp.
• Government business eligibility for cooperative banks: Pensions, DBTs, subsidies.

Model Cooperative Village & Rural Cluster Strategy

• One model cooperative village per State/UT encouraged.
• Cooperative-led clusters in honey, spices, silk, dairy, tea, etc.
• Promotion of “Bharat Brand” for cooperative goods (national brand strategy).

Digital Tech & Future-Readiness

• National Cooperative Stack: Seamless integration with AgriStack, ONDC, and GeM.
• Promote e-commerce platforms for cooperative products.
• Establish Cooperative Innovation Hubs and Centres of Excellence.

Inclusivity Measures

• Model Bye-laws for SC/ST, women, and PwD inclusion in boards.
• Launch of awareness campaigns in schools and colleges.
• Gender quotas and capacity-building schemes for underrepresented groups.

Sectoral Expansion into New-Age Areas

• NCP 2025 seeks to embed cooperatives into:
  • Clean energy (solar, biogas, ethanol)
  • Waste management (solid, liquid, e-waste)
  • Health & Education (school, diagnostic cooperatives)
  • Gig-economy aggregators (plumber, taxi, delivery services)
  • Organic/Natural farming, food processing, e-logistics

Youth-Oriented Cooperative Ecosystem

• University-level cooperative courses with UGC/AICTE integration.
• National Cooperative Employment Exchange (digital job portal).
• Recruit skilled trainers in finance, marketing, governance for cooperatives.
• Boost digital and financial literacy among rural youth.

Implementation & Monitoring Architecture

• 3-tier governance for policy rollout:
  • Implementation Cell (Ministry of Cooperation) – with PMU support.
  • National Steering Committee – chaired by Union Minister.
  • Policy Monitoring Committee – led by Cooperation Secretary.
• Action plan with timelines – awaited; states to be roped in through MoUs and convergence mechanisms.

Why NCP 2025 Is Transformational

Critical Evaluation

Strengths

• Holistic and future-ready: Legal + Digital + Social inclusion.
• Youth engagement and gender justice embedded.
• Serious effort to mainstream cooperatives into national economy.

Challenges

• Centre–State friction: Cooperatives fall under Entry 32, State List.
• Capacity constraints in Tier-2/Tier-3 cooperatives.
• Need for robust data infrastructure and regulatory convergence.
• Sustained financing of tech upgrades and HR capacity.

Conclusion

The National Cooperation Policy 2025 is not merely an update; it is a reimagination of India’s cooperative sector — from marginal rural support to a pillar of Viksit Bharat 2047. By fusing democratic participation with digital innovation and economic competitiveness, it offers a blueprint for inclusive, bottom-up growth. If implemented with Centre-State synergy, it can transform cooperatives into India’s second engine of growth.