Tejas Networks supplies the equipment required for mobile networks and broadband connections.
For co-founder Arnob Roy of Tejas Networks, a stable supply of computer chips is crucial.
The company, based in Bangalore, India, supplies the equipment that supports mobile networks and broadband connections.
"In simple terms, we provide the electronic devices that allow telecom networks to transmit traffic," he said.
These devices require special chips designed specifically for telecom use.
"Telecom chips are fundamentally different from consumer or smartphone chips. They must handle large volumes of data from hundreds of thousands of users at the same time," he said.
"These networks cannot be interrupted. Reliability, redundancy, and fail-safe operation are critical – the chip architecture must be able to support these requirements," Roy explained.
Tejas Networks designs many of these chips, and India itself is known for its expertise in computer chip (also called semiconductor) design.
It is estimated that around 20% of the world's semiconductor engineers are in India.
Amitesh Kumar Sinha, joint secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India, stated, "Almost all major global chip companies have their largest or second-largest design centers in India, focusing on cutting-edge product development."
What India lacks, however, is companies capable of truly producing semiconductors.
Therefore, Indian companies like Tejas Networks, even if they design chips locally, still need to outsource manufacturing to overseas factories.
This system of relying on overseas manufacturing exposed weaknesses during the pandemic. When global chip supplies were short, companies across industries had to cut production.
Roy said, "The pandemic made the world realize that semiconductor manufacturing has become overly concentrated, and this concentration itself is a risk."
This also prompted India to start pushing for its own semiconductor industry.
"The pandemic showed us how vulnerable global supply chains are. If one part of the world stops, global electronics manufacturing is affected," Sinha said.
"That is why India wants to build its own semiconductor ecosystem to reduce risks and increase resilience."
He is currently leading the government's efforts to develop the semiconductor industry, including identifying areas where India can be competitive.
Computer chips are made by etching circuits onto silicon wafers.
The process of making a computer chip can be divided into several stages: first, design – which is an area where India already has an advantage.
The second stage is chip manufacturing (wafer fabrication), which requires extremely expensive equipment. In large factories called "chip plants" (fabs), circuits are etched onto thin silicon chips.
This stage is currently dominated by companies in Taiwan, while China is trying to catch up.
In the third stage, these large silicon wafers are cut into individual chips, packaged in protective casings, connected with contact points, and tested.
This third stage is known as outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing (OSAT), and it is the production segment that India is focusing on.
Ashok Chandak, chairman of the Indian Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), said, "Assembly, testing, and packaging are easier to start than chip plants, and this is where India is prioritizing development."
He said that several such factories will "go into mass production" this year.
China is accelerating its development of the semiconductor industry.
Kaynes Semicon, established in 2023, is the first company to successfully launch a chip assembly and testing plant under the support of the Indian government.
Kaynes Semicon invested $260 million (approximately £270 million) in a factory in Gujarat, western India, and started production in November of last year.
"Packaging is not just putting the chip in a box; it is a complete process involving 10 to 12 steps," said CEO Raghu Panicker.
"This is why packaging and testing are just as important as chip manufacturing itself – without this stage, chips are useless to the industry."
His factory does not manufacture the most advanced chips needed for the latest smartphones or AI training.
"India doesn't need to start by making the most complex data center or AI chips. That's not where our demand is, nor is it where our strength lies right now," Panicker said.
Instead, they focus on chips needed for the automotive, telecom, and defense industries.
"These chips may not be glamorous, but they are far more important for India, both economically and strategically. Developing the industry must start with meeting local market needs. The complexity can come later, but the scale must be built first," he said.
For Kaynes Semicon, this has been a difficult learning process.
"We've never built a semiconductor cleanroom in India before, nor have we installed these machines or trained the relevant personnel," Panicker said.
"Semiconductor manufacturing requires a certain level of discipline, documentation, and process control, which are completely different from traditional manufacturing. This cultural and technical transformation is equally important."
Talent training has always been a big challenge.
"Training takes time. Five years of experience can't be crammed into six months. This is the biggest bottleneck right now," Panicker said.
Back in Bangalore, Roy of Tejas Networks expects to buy more locally manufactured technology in the future.
"We expect India to gradually establish an important semiconductor manufacturing base within the next decade, which will directly benefit companies like us," he said.
He said this would be the beginning of a long journey.
"I am confident that Indian companies will eventually be able to design and manufacture complete telecom chip sets on their own, but this will require patient capital and time."
"The maturity of deep technology products comes slowly, and India is only just starting to support such investments."
Source: BBC
Original: toutiao.com/article/7600202517397471794/
Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author."