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India seeks to boost semiconductor units

For every semi-conductor job, ten additional jobs are created in the ecosystem

Question: In an earlier column you had mentioned about India encouraging establishment of semiconductor units. Is there any progress in this regard? Are there enough qualified engineers to sustain this industry in India?

ANSWER: The second phase of the semiconductor policy is now being put in place which has incentivised global and Indian companies to collaborate and set up joint ventures. Recently, senior Government functionaries of Singapore have started talks with the Tata Group of Companies which is proposing to set up units in Gujarat and Assam with a total investment of around Rs1.2 trillion. Singapore has 25 foundries and a robust semiconductor value chain.

It is expected that this joint venture will create around 50,000 jobs. For every semi-conductor job, ten additional jobs are created in the ecosystem. To meet the demand for talented engineers, the All India Council of Technical Education and the National Skill Development Corporation are roping in technical institutes which are introducing skill-based courses pertaining to device design engineering, EUV tool managers, memory circuit design engineers, and others who are needed by the industry. Graduates from these specially designed courses are currently in great demand and the entry of international firms in India has further created job opportunities, especially for those who have a combination of semiconductor expertise with knowledge of quantum computing and Artificial Intelligence. In order to give a boost to technical education in this field, AICTE has accorded approval to 629 institutes which will be able to ensure that enough technically skilled manpower is available as it is expected that one million jobs in this ecosystem will be needed by 2026.

Question: Cyber frauds have increased substantially in India using the banking system. Will this not affect the robustness of the banking infrastructure? Are steps being taken to mitigate the risks?

ANSWER: The banking regulator has taken the cyber threats and risks very seriously to ensure that the interests of bank customers are protected. The Reserve Bank of India has developed an artificial intelligence application called MuleHunter.AI to identify and alert banks about ‘mule accounts’ which are used to siphon off defrauded funds. This is part of an infrastructure-level set up which will use databases from all banks and payment system operators. Its AI engine will be trained on this extensive data set which will more effectively detect frauds in the financial system. This has been done to take care of the growing concern over the increasing overall volume and value of fraud cases. MuleHunter.AI provides a facility which any entity, particularly smaller banks and organisations without sufficient resources to develop such systems, can utilise to prevent and mitigate digital fraud. The Reserve Bank is continuously upgrading this facility to accept the challenges posed by a growing number of scamsters. Banks are also strengthening their own cyber security systems in order to protect the interest of their customers.

Question: What is the status of childcare benefits being provided by companies to its employees? Is there any legislation to make the provision of this benefit mandatory?

ANSWER: From 2017 daycare support programmes for employees is mandated as per The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017. The number of companies offering structured daycare benefit schemes has increased fivefold since 2017. Many companies are making childcare benefits more inclusive and focusing more on investing in benefits to support working parents. Some companies are going beyond legal requirements to improve employment engagement by providing crèches near the residence as well as place of work. Flexible daycare options are also being provided. Subsidies are given to cover fees and compensation is given for other expenses which employees have to incur. A survey was recently conducted covering hundreds of companies and it was found that the majority of the surveyed companies allocated around five per cent of their total HR budget to daycare related expenses. Many companies are offering gender neutral support based on caregiving roles. Several companies are providing paternity leave of 14 weeks which is above industry norms. This reflects a broader shift towards supporting all employees in balancing work and family responsibilities.

The writer is a practising lawyer, specialising in corporate and fiscal laws of India.