‘India's goal should be to have 10-plus fabs by 2030’

India's third largest IT services player HCLTech's Q2 FY25 numbers beat estimates on growth and profits. Chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) C VIJAYAKUMAR sounded confident about the macro situation, saying discretionary spend was better in Q2 than Q1. In a video interview with Shivani Shinde, he talks about growth triggers, spend mindset and GenAI deal growth. Edited excerpts:

- AJIT MANOCHA

There are a huge number of fabs (fabrication units) being built worldwide. What is SEMI's projection of India's share by 2030?

According to the SEMI World Fab Forecast report from September 2024, 108 wafer fabs are set to come online through 2027, with 87 in various stages of implementation. SEMI forecasts that an additional 50-plus fabs will be needed between 2027 and 2030 to support the projected $1 trillion in annual semiconductor revenue by the decade's end.

In my opinion, India's aspirational goal should be to have over 10 fabs by 2030, but this depends on the successful execution of the already announced five-plus manufacturing units and a focus on building India's ecosystem.

The government has set a target of achieving a 10 per cent share in the global outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing/assembly testing marking and packing (OSAT/ATMP) space in five years, aiming to increase to 20 per cent by 2030. Is that achievable?