India needs to create capabilities in semiconductors since it is going to become more critical as electric mobility gains momentum in the country, CII President T V Narendran said on Thursday. The country’s auto ancillaries industry should also look to expand its export basket and achieve at least five per cent of global components trade by 2026, he said.
Narendran was speaking at the 61st annual session of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA). “With the growing adoption of electric mobility, semiconductors are going to become more and more critical. It’s important for us as an ecosystem, as a country, as an industry, collectively or individually, to invest in creating these capabilities in India,” said Narendran, who is also CEO and managing director of Tata Steel Ltd.
He, however, added that this is going to take time. “It is going to take support from the government. It is capital-intensive and it is a significant business,” Narendran. Many automobile manufacturers in India, including Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra, have been hit by the current global semiconductor shortage. Narendran said the government has also set its sights on making India more environment-friendly and is slowly phasing out petrol- and diesel-based vehicles.
“The very nature of the industry has also transformed during this period, and technology-centric features, safety, comfort emissions and energy consumption have taken centre stage in recent times,” he added. Exhorting the country’s automotive industry to enhance localisation efforts throughout the supply chain, he said, “India must emphasise on targeted export expansion of key components and expand the share in the global auto components trade to at least 4-5 per cent by 2026.”
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