The Government of India recently announced a chips to startups program which will expand the already growing engineering talent pool across the country. The Union Cabinet has approved a financial outlay of Rs 76,000 crore for the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in India, announcing incentives for every part of the supply chain including electronic components, sub-assemblies, and finished goods.

“The biggest advantage that India has is the entire design ecosystem. We have around 24,000 design engineers working in India. So, that's a huge ecosystem. That means the talent is there, how to apply the talent, that application process is there. So, that is what gives us a very big advantage. Almost all the major economies are today giving close to 50 per cent capital incentive on setting up a semiconductor fab or a display fab. We will be giving practically similar incentives. But what we are offering in advance is a very clear 20-year roadmap where the focus is on generating that talent, nurturing that talent and making sure that as the industry grows. There are a sufficient number of very well trained engineers available for taking that journey forward. So, that is what will give us a bigger advantage,” said Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology.

This move will create massive employment opportunities along with export momentum for the country that will aid its economic growth. While this sheds a positive light on the hiring potential for highly skilled engineers, the implementation of this skilling program and its overall impact on the talent potential of the country remains to be seen.