As per Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, India and Japan have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate in semiconductor design, manufacturing, research, talent development, and improving the chip supply chain.

 

"It has been agreed that India and Japan will create an implementation organisation in which there will be opportunities for government-to-government as well as industry-to-industry collaboration," Vaishnaw said.

 

A key component of this memorandum of collaboration will be The Rapidus Corporation of Japan, a semiconductor manufacturer with headquarters in Tokyo that was established in August 2022 with the backing of Japanese businesses like Denso, Kioxia, MUFG Bank, NEC, NTT, SoftBank, Sony, and Toyota.

 

"We are talking to Rapidus to expand their presence to India. Talks are at an advanced stage," he said, adding that the implementation organisation which will be formed will create a direct channel of communication at the government level between the two countries.

 

Another IT ministry official claimed that by doing this, Japanese companies will no longer be in the dark about the Indian Semiconductor Mission (ISM) and investors will know exactly where and how to invest.

 

"There is a complimentary strength between Indian and Japan. Rapidus has been formed to work on lead nodes of 2 (nm) nanometers semiconductor fabrication in Japan. They may not bring that in India. But there is more than enough demand for legacy nodes as well. If we are able to foray into that space and make a mark in the legacy node space, it will serve both Indian and Japanese markets," the official said.