Bringing the semiconductor sector to India is ‘strategic’

Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday (June 15) said bringing the semiconductor sector to India is “strategic”, alleging that he was misquoted in earlier comments on an American company’s investment in the sector.

The Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries has clarified his alleged statement about US semiconductor company Micron Technology receiving subsidies for every job created in the western state of Gujarat.

“Bringing the semiconductor sector to India is strategic, that’s what we require. At the same time, we need to create jobs for the second-line sector, our small-scale industries… We are thinking about it and working on it,” the Indian minister said on Saturday.

The comment comes after a report by The Times of India on Friday (June 14) that said Kumaraswamy “wondered aloud” whether India needed investments like Micron Technology.

Kumaraswamy reportedly claims that the US-based company is investing $2.5 billion in Gujarat and potentially receiving subsidies of Rs 3.2 crore ($383,003) for every job it creates.

“The new production plant will create approximately 5,000 jobs. For this purpose, we are giving them subsidies of $2 billion… If you do the math, it is 70% of the company’s total investment,” TOI quoted him as saying while addressing party workers in his home state of Karnataka in the south.

He added: “I asked officials how it was justified to allocate such a large amount of funds. Conversely, there are small-scale industries… there are small-scale industries in Peenya (industrial area in Bengaluru). How many millions of jobs have they created? What benefits have we provided them?”

As per the TOI report, Kumaraswamy later clarified that he was not authorized to reveal the information.

“I have to be very careful”
When asked about his remarks, the Union minister said on Saturday, “I was misquoted. I didn’t mention any condition. Why was my statement received this way? I have to be extra careful in the future.”

According to media reports, Kumaraswamy also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the portfolios assigned to him and during his speech to party workers announced that he would focus on creating employment opportunities for the youth. WIO News