Year End Review 2023 of Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology

The three-day SemiconIndia 2023 was inaugurated by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and in his special address he emphasised role of semiconductors in day-to-day lives of the people and how India is committed to build the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem under the Semicon India Programme. Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Communications, and Railways, Government of India highlighted role of Prime Minister in transforming every sector with a focus on electronics manufacturing, particularly semiconductors. Shri Bhupendra Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat addressed the gathering and applauded the visionary guidance of PM around manufacturing landscape, especially electronics and semiconductors.

India is leading the technology revolution with focus on electronics. As part of the revolution, semiconductors play an indispensable role and have applications in nearly all sectors, including communication, defence, automobiles and computing devices. Strengthening the important pillar of progress of the country – ‘Electronics’ and reinforcing the vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, India is poised to broaden and deepen its value chain and facilitate a world class semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem.

India Semiconductor Mission organised SemiconIndia 2023 Conference in July 2023 with the theme ‘Catalysing India’s Semiconductor Ecosystem’. More than 8,000 persons from over 23 countries participated in the Conference. SemiconIndia 2023 witnessed participation of industry leaders from major global companies such as Micron Technology, Applied Materials, Foxconn, Cadence and AMD, and the industry association, SEMI.

The Three-Day GPAI Summit held in New Delhi; More than 150 Startups and major tech companies showcased their AI applications and products in the Global AI Expo

India, as the Incoming Support Chair of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), stands at the forefront, hosted the annual GPAI Summit from December 12-14, 2023 in New Delhi. The GPAI Summit began uniting representatives from 28 member countries and the European Union, forging an extraordinary platform for profound discussions on the urgent matters shaping the ever-evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The major outcomes achieved during the GPAI summit are as follows:

1. GPAI New Delhi Declaration built the consensus among GPAI members on advancing safe, secure, and trustworthy AI and commitment to supporting the sustainability of GPAI projects.
2. The Prime Minister’s gave clarion call to work together to prepare a global framework for the ethical use of AI”.
3. India as the main player in the field of AI talent and AI-related ideas was highlighted.
4. India Shines as Global Hub for AI Innovation.
5. India brought together all major initiatives for AI – UN Advisory Group on AI, UK AI Safety Summit – at one event at GPAI New Delhi Summit.
6. AI Research Analytics and Knowledge Dissemination Platform (AIRAWAT) and National Program on Artificial Intelligence and its role in shaping AI ecosystem in India was prominently emphasized.
7. Platform was provided to the research community to showcase their core and applied research.
8. Opportunity was provided to Startup community to showcase their AI products and services in the expo.
9. AI Pitch fest provided an opportunity to upcoming startups to pitch for their innovation and value-added products and services.
10. The summit brought to the fore the multi-stakeholder approach on taking AI among the masses especially among youths and students and highlighted the latest advancements on AI from technology, policy, framework, industrial, ethical, business, and academic perspectives.

First India Stack Developer Conference held in January 2023

The first India Stack Developer Conference was inaugurated by Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar. The event was participated by than 100+ digital leaders from Industry Associations, Industry, System Integrators and Start-ups, mainly at CXO/MD/Founder level. The event also saw participation from delegates of G20 countries.

Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, in his address, said that the objective of the conference is to increase access and adoption of India Stack-for countries that are keen to adopt and integrate it as per their requirements and to create a robust ecosystem of startups, developers and system integrators working around it on next-generation innovation. “Our Mission as a nation is to offer India Stack or the part of the stack to those enterprises & countries across the world who want to innovate and further integrate, execute, and implement digital transformation.”, said the Minister.

Cabinet approves the incentive scheme for promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the incentive scheme for promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (person-to-merchant) for a period of one year from April 2022.

The approved incentive scheme for promotion of RuPay Debit Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (P2M) in FY 2022-23 has a financial outlay of ₹2,600 crore. Under the said scheme, acquiring banks will be provided financial incentive, for promoting Point-of-Sale (PoS) and e-commerce transactions using RuPay Debit Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions (P2M) for the previous financial year FY 2022-23.

The Finance Minister, in her speech on the Budget for FY2022-23, announced Government’s intent to continue the financial support for digital payments announced in the previous Budget, with a focus on promoting use of payment platforms that are economical and user-friendly. The scheme has been formulated in compliance with the aforesaid Budget announcement.

In FY2021-22, the government had approved an incentive scheme in compliance with the budget announcement of FY2021-22 to give a further boost to digital transactions. As a result, total digital payments transactions have registered a year-on-year growth of 59%, rising from 5,554 crore in FY2020-21 to 8,840 crore in FY2021-22. BHIM-UPI transactions have registered a year-on-year growth of 106%, rising from 2,233 crore in FY2020-21 to 4,597 crore in FY2021-22.

UIDAI deliberated on five focus areas including resident centricity and facilitating ‘Ease of Living’

As Aadhaar saturation has reached near universal among adult population, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) deliberated on and decided to work on five core areas to provide continued support to residents in their daily lives, further enhance data security, and play a stellar role in furthering the cause of good governance.

The five core areas were – resident centricity, expanding usage of Aadhaar, security and privacy, continuous technology upgradation and collaborate with global economies and support them in their aspiration to achieve SDG 16.9 (provide legal identity for all). Five focus areas were deliberated in brainstorming session at Kevadia (Gujarat). Dr Saurabh Garg, CEO, UIDAI maintained that there is and will always be a continuous focus on how to support residents in improving ease of living, and better their experience in availing services.

UIDAI rolls out new security mechanism for robust fingerprint based Aadhaar authentication

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) under the Ministry of Electronics & IT had successfully rolled out a new security mechanism for Aadhaar based fingerprint authentication, and faster detection of spoofing attempts in February 2023. The artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) based security mechanism developed in-house is now using a combination of both finger minutia and finger image to check the liveness of the finger print captured. This is making Aadhaar authentication transactions even more robust and secure.

The new two factor/layer authentication is adding add-on checks to validate the genuineness (liveness) of the fingerprint so as to further cut down the chances of spoofing attempts.

The move will be of immense use in segments including banking and financials, telecom and government sectors. It shall also benefit bottom of the pyramid as it will further strengthen the Aadhaar enabled payment system and curb malicious attempts by unscrupulous elements. With the new system in place, only finger image or only finger minutiae based Aadhaar authentication has given way to the robust two factor authentication – a win-win for all stake holders.

India successfully organises the First Meeting of G20 Digital Economy Working Group in Lucknow from 13 February to 15 February 2023

The First G20 Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) meeting in India concluded in February 2023, setting the tone for a productive and meaningful deliberations for the future DEWG meetings. The three-day meeting, which took place in Lucknow, showcased India’s digital transformation journey, and brought together G20 members, key knowledge partners, and guest countries to discuss digital public infrastructure, cybersecurity, and digital skilling.

The inauguration day showcased by five workshops that covered various topics related to digital public infrastructure, cybersecurity solutions for MSMEs, sustainable development goals, and the use of geospatial technologies. In addition, the meeting showcased digital initiatives from the state of Uttar Pradesh. On the second day, the DEWG meeting began with a keynote address from India’s G20 Sherpa, Shri Amitabh Kant, followed by insightful presentations and interventions from participants. Subsequently, the delegates discussed two priority areas namely Digital Pubic Infrastructure and Cyber security were discussed at length and expressed their willingness for further deliberations in subsequent working group meetings for greater shared understanding.

In the second half of the day, the participants embarked on an excursion to bara Imambara, a historic monument that is widely considered an architectural masterpiece. The site was a perfect backdrop for the participants to unwind and enjoy the local culture and traditions. The day ended on a high note with the sound, light and dance shows, creating a magical and memorable atmosphere for all. The final and the third day of the meeting focused on the priority of Digital Skilling. India proposed mechanisms for digitally skilled future ready workforce. The member nations appreciated the inclusion of digital skilling in the DEWG agenda and supported the India’s proposed priority areas broadly. Summary discussions were also held on three key priority areas namely Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), Cyber Security in Digital Economy and Digital Skilling.

UIDAI makes online document update in Aadhaar free of cost; to benefit millions of residents

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has decided to allow residents to update documents in their Aadhaar online free of cost in March 2023, a people-centric move that will benefit millions of residents.

As part of Digital India initiative, the UIDAI took the decision and is urged residents to get the benefit of free document update facility on myAadhaar portal.  The free service was available for the next three months, i.e., March 15 to June 14, 2023. It is important to note that this service is free only on myAadhaar portal and will continue to attract a fee of Rs 50 at physical Aadhaar centres, as in the case earlier. The UIDAI has been encouraging residents to upload Proof of Identity and Proof of Address (PoI/PoA) documents to revalidate their demographic details, especially if Aadhaar was issued 10 years back and never got updated. This will help in improved ease of living, better service delivery and enhances authentication success rate.

Union Cabinet approves extension of the Digital India programme with an outlay of ₹ 14,903.25 crore

The Government had launched the Digital India programme in July 2015 with three key vision areas, namely digital infrastructure as a core utility to every citizen, governance and services on demand, and digital empowerment of citizens. The overall goal is to ensure that digital technologies improve the life of every citizen, expand India’s digital economy, and create investment and employment opportunities. It has also helped in the delivery of services directly to beneficiaries in a transparent manner. In the process, India has emerged as one of the pre-eminent nations of the world to use technology to transform the lives of its citizens. 

The Government, in August 2023, approved the extension of the Digital India programme with a total outlay of ₹14,903.25 crore during the period of the 15^th Finance Commission i.e., 2021-22 to 2025-26.

The extension of the programme will have the following major benefits:

• 6.25 lakh IT professionals will be re-skilled and up-skilled under the FutureSkills PRIME Programme.
• 2.65 lakh persons will be trained in information security under the Information Security & Education Awareness Phase (ISEA) Programme. In addition, more than 12 crore beneficiaries are envisaged to be covered under the Cyber Aware Digital Naagrik component through various activities.
• 540 additional services will be available under the Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) app/ platform. At present over 1,700 services are already available on UMANG.
• 9 more supercomputers will be added under the National Super Computer Mission. This is in addition to 18 supercomputers already deployed.
• Bhashini, the AI-enabled multi-language translation tool (currently available in 10 languages) will be rolled out in all 22 schedule 8 languages.
• Modernisation of the National Knowledge Network (NKN) which connects 1,787 educational institutions.
• Digital document verification facility under DigiLocker will now be available to MSMEs and other Corporates.
• 1,200 startups will be supported in Tier 2/3 cities.
• New initiatives in the area of cyber security including the development of tools and integration of more than 200 sites with the National Cyber Coordination Centre.

Cabinet approves Memorandum of Cooperation signed between India and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on cooperation in the field of Digitization and Electronic manufacturing

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was apprised of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) signed on 18th August, 2023 between the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Communications and information Technology of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia on cooperation in the field of Digitization and Electronic Manufacturing.        

The Memorandum of Cooperation intends to strengthen collaboration in the field of Digitization, Electronic Manufacturing, e-Governance, smart infrastructure, e-Health and e-Education, promote partnership in research in digital innovation and the use of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Robots, Cloud Computing and Blockchain, etc. This MoC would establish a framework for cooperation in the area of digitization and electronic manufacturing and establish partnerships between India and Saudi Arabia.

The MoC aims to promote ways of innovative training and development through e-Teaching, e-learning and exchange programs in the digitization and electronics manufacturing and to develop joint training programs for capacity building and access to highly skilled Information and Communication Technologies professionals, strengthen SME and start-up ecosystem by sharing information on business accelerators, venture capital and incubators of technology start-ups which would indirectly generate employment opportunities for both parties.

Micron’s semiconductor project at Sanand in Gujarat on fast track

Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had approved the proposal of Micron for setting up a semiconductor unit in India with capital investment of ₹22,516 crore (2.75 billion dollars) in June 2023, providing 50 per cent fiscal support on pari-passu basis. Ground breaking of the unit at Sanand, Gujarat was done within 3 months in September 2023.

Construction of the unit is going on in full swing and is expected to be completed in about 12 months. The memory and storage products manufactured in this unit will cater to domestic consumption and be exported globally. The unit is expected to create up to 5 thousand direct and 15 thousand indirect job opportunities over the next 5 years. India Semiconductor Mission, Government of Gujarat and Micron are working collaboratively in close association with academia to train about 10 thousand engineers.

More than 30 gasses, chemicals, equipment, substrate manufacturing and other ancillary industries are in various phases of discussion for setting up facilities in Gujarat. Agreements for ensuring project milestones are met timely and for disbursement of incentives were signed today among Micron, India Semiconductor Mission and Government of Gujarat. Union Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & IT Shri Ashwini Vishnaw commended the coordination among Government of Gujarat, Government of India and the industry. He assured full commitment and facilitation for the development of semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in India.

Cabinet approves Production Linked Incentive Scheme – 2.0 for IT Hardware

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, in May 2023 approved the Production Linked Incentive Scheme 2.0 for IT Hardware with a budgetary outlay Rs. 17,000 crore.

Salient features:

• PLI Scheme 2.0 for IT hardware covers laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs,   servers and ultra small form factor devices
• The budgetary outlay of the scheme is Rs. 17,000 crore
• The tenure of this scheme is 6 years
• Expected incremental production is Rs. 3.35 Lakh crore
• Expected incremental investment is Rs. 2,430 crore
• Expected incremental direct employment is 75,000

Significance:

India is emerging as a trusted supply chain partner for all global majors. Large  IT hardware  companies   have  shown keen interest in establishing manufacturing facilities in India. This is further supported by strong IT services industry having good demand within the country. Most majors would like to supply domestic markets within India from a facility situated in India as well as make India an export hub.

Government approves 27 manufacturers under PLI Scheme – 2.0 For IT Hardware

Building on the success of Production Linked Incentive scheme (PLI) for mobile phones, the Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had approved PLI Scheme – 2.0 for IT hardware on 17th May 2023. This scheme covers laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs, Servers and Ultra Small Form Factor devices.

Applications of 27 IT hardware manufacturers have been approved today. IT hardware of well-known brands such as Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc will be manufactured in India. The expected outcomes of this approval, over the tenure of the scheme are as follows:

• • Employment: total of about 02 lakhs
  • About 50,000 (direct) and about 1.5 lakh (indirect)
  • Value of IT hardware production: 3 lakh 50 thousand crore rupees (42 billion US dollars)
  • Investment by companies: 3,000 crore rupees (360 million US dollars)

Addressing industry captains and media, Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics and IT Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw informed that “23 out of 27 approved applicants are ready to start manufacturing on day zero”.

G20-Digital Innovation Alliance (DIA) Programme: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had organised the G20-Digital Innovation Alliance (DIA) Programme at Bangalore during 17^th to 19^th August 2023. The event was inaugurated by Hon’ble MoS, Electronics & IT and Secretary, MeitY. More than 109 startups from 23 nations participated in the event followed by a sector-wise pitching session.

The top 30 startups were awarded by Hon’ble Minister for Electronics & IT and other dignitaries during the valedictory session. The programme had attended by more than 45 speakers, 60 Judges, 120 investors and more than 1000 startups. As part of the event, a state-of-the-art exhibition with more than 200 stalls wherein 1500 exhibitors including various central Government Ministries, State Governments, public sector banks, corporates, international and domestic startups showcased their accomplishments during the event. A total footfall of more than 15000 people were recorded during the three-day event.