Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, and Jal Shakti, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, announced that Assam will soon have its first-ever semiconductor packaging plant worth nearly Rs 25000 Crore. He made this announcement during his address at the first-ever Digital India futureSKILLS Summit, which was held today at the Birinchi Kumar Baruah Auditorium, Gauhati University.
He said, “It was because of the leadership of CM Hemanta Biswa Sarma, a semiconductor packaging plant will be established in partnership with the Assam Government and TATA Group. We will soon obtain all approvals and submit it to the cabinet for final approval. Young Indians aspiring to enter the world of semiconductors won’t have to leave their state or travel to other cities anymore.”
The Minister also emphasized how India’s economy has undergone significant progress over the past decade, from being ‘fragile 5’ to now ranked as world’s ‘top 5’ economy. This significant milestone under the leadership of Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi has unleashed many opportunities for young Indians, particularly in emerging technology sectors where India is on the same starting line as the rest of the world.
“Through futureSKILLS, we want to convey to our young Indians that in the coming years, due to the policies of our PM Modi, numerous opportunities will open up for them. Students need to empower and equip themselves with skills in areas such as AI, cybersecurity, and semiconductors. Today, the world’s biggest companies in these fields, including NVIDIA, Intel, AMD, HCL, Wipro, and IBM, are present here today in Guwahati. They all share a singular message — there are tremendous job opportunities, but building skills for it is very important. The objective of this summit is to motivate young Indians to fully immerse themselves in the world of skills,” the Minister added.
The Minister affirmed that with initiatives like futureSKILLS, India is poised to lead the way in shaping the future of technology. This endeavor will cultivate a globally competitive talent pool accessible not only to Indian companies but also to organizations worldwide, setting a new standard in the global tech landscape.
He said, “Our PM has created a three-pronged strategy to shape the future of tech — futureDESIGN for design innovation, futureLABS for innovation around systems, and futureSKILLS for preparing our Young Indians from Guwahati to Mumbai to Bengaluru to J&K with capabilities in emerging sectors. Today, Indians are very important players and participants in shaping the future of emerging technologies like AI, semiconductors, and cybersecurity.”
The Digital India future SKILLS Summit hosted by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) through the National Institute of Electronics and IT (NIELIT) witnessed the convergence of esteemed dignitaries, industry leaders, academia, policymakers and technology enthusiasts to deliberate on strategies for Catalyzing future-ready talent for India & the World.
Minister Chandrasekhar also highlighted that FutureSKILLS is about bringing to your attention, the world of opportunities in areas that require many skilled people. These futureSKILLS are needed in emerging areas like semiconductors, Al, Electronics, HPC and cybersecurity among others. These are technologies where India is on the same starting line as the rest of the world.
Education Minister of Assam, Dr. Ranoj Pegu said that the Government of Assam has taken many steps for digital skilling of youths in Assam.
He said that, “Projects worth Rs. 1800 crore have been implemented by the Assam Govt. to skill our youths on industry 4.0 across 77 polytechnics and ITIs. Recently an agreement has been signed with TATA and also allotted 150-acre land to establish semiconductor industry near Guwahati.”
Among the key speakers of the summit were Kuntal Sen Sarma, Economic Adviser, MeitY, Jaya Jagadish, Head, AMD India, Ruchir Dixit, Vice President & Country Manager, Siemens EDA, Lingraju Sawkar, President, Kyndryl India, Ganesh Gopalan, CEO and Co-Founder, Gnani.AI, Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director, IIT Bombay.
