Quality and quantity of jobs to surge as India enters semiconductor era: CII's Vinod Sharma

New Delhi [India], November 17 : India's shift from electronics assembly to semiconductor-driven manufacturing will sharply boost employment, creating millions of roles across core electronics and allied sectors as deeper value addition and advanced component production expand nationwide, Vinod Sharma, Chairman, National Committee on Electronics Manufacturing, CII, toldtoday.

"Not only we should look at jobs, not only in the electronic industry, but in the industries we influence, for example, electric mobility. So there again, electronics plays a big role. And I think the jobs that will get created in core electronics and in related areas are in a few million. And we are very hopeful of achieving the targets set by our own Prime Minister," he said on the sidelines of the 8th Electronics Summit held in New Delhi.

Stressing that India's electronics and allied sectors will generate new roles as the country shifts from pure assembly to deeper manufacturing, he said "when we get into deeper value-added manufacturing like components and semiconductors, the quantity and the quality of jobs will rise."

Sharma toldthat India's electronics journey is still in its early stages despite rapid progress.

Citing the country's long-term roadmap, he said, "This is a 400 into 400 metre relay race we are running globally. The first leg was assembly of large-scale electronics like mobile phones. The second is semiconductors and components manufacturing. The third is design-led innovation, and the fourth is establishing Indian champions as global brands."

He added that government policies and industry enthusiasm have accelerated growth, but "the journey has just begun".

In the transition to semiconductors and components, Sharma said the industrial landscapeand workforcewill transform meaningfully. Passive components, PCBs and connectors will create large numbers of jobs, while semiconductor fabs will offer highly specialised roles.

He also projected job expansion across sectors heavily dependent on electronics such as electric mobility, defence systems, modern agriculture and healthcare technologies.

Sharma dismissed concerns that AI could shrink employment in manufacturing. Instead, he said, AI will strengthen India's competitiveness.

"Overall the number of jobs will not reduce... it will increase because the number of companies and the number of products we make will increase," he said.

Better-quality jobs will emerge as India scales advanced manufacturing and adopts automation selectively. He also noted that many assembly lines still don't employ enough women, leaving significant room for workforce expansion.

On achieving 50-60% indigenous manufacturing within a decade, Sharma said this goal is possible if India shifts from product thinking to solution thinking.

"Beginning with that belief is very important," he said, adding that India must design solutions tailored for its own economy and for emerging global markets to truly become a manufacturing and design hub.

Sharma welcomed the strong policy architecture supporting semiconductors and components.

"Incentives of up to 50% by the Centre and 20-25% by state governments, along with land and infrastructure support, have created huge enthusiasm," he said. Industry now awaits ISM 2.0, he added, given the rising hunger for semiconductor capacity.

He also highlighted ongoing work in logistics, land access and collaboration with academic institutions to build an innovation ecosystem.

Electronics, he said, is a "meta-resource" that drives productivity across modern industries, making India's semiconductor push central to its ambition of becoming a global design and manufacturing powerhouse.

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