Semiconductor startups in India

Famous poet Munir Niazi always lamented, “Der kar daita hun” (Delayed action). He also pointed to some kind of a spell that keeps us behind (Asaib). Unfortunately, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan continues to suffer from delays and spells, but when it comes to rivalry with Hindustan, we are never behind. When Indira Gandhi decided to build a nuclear device in the sixties, Munir Ahmed Khan, a nuclear engineer working at the International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC), rang the alarm bells. First, he convinced Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB), then the foreign minister, and together they tried to seek the Field Marshal’s nod but failed. After the dismemberment of Jinnah’s Pakistan in 1970, ZAB decided to launch the nuclear programme to save what remained. Finally, in May 1998, Pakistan entered the ranks of the nuclear-powered nations.
The vision of the democratic government was a self-reliant Pakistan. Major programmes were launched in the Defence Production sector together with the development of the indigenous electronics industry. NIE (National Institute of Electronics) and NIST (National Institute of Silicon Technology) were established in the industrial area of Islamabad. Research was carried out by qualified engineers and scientists. Several products were developed. Unfortunately, due to lack of commercialization frameworks, the manufacturing stage was not reached. I had the chance of interacting with both these entities. NIST, under the leadership of Dr Mufti Qazi, succeeded in producing Silicon (Si) from local sand. He went on to produce solar cells, the first country in Asia to achieve this feat. Si is the basic building block of the semiconductor industry. Microelectronic components are fabricated on Si substrates. Then came the spell: not only did Dr Qazi lose his job, but NIST also fell on bad times. By the merger of several smaller initiatives, a new organization was created called PECRET (Pakistan Council of Renewable Energy Technologies), which is currently under review/re-organisation.
Now that our arch-enemy India has launched a massive fast-track semiconductor development initiative, I am sure some danger bells will start ringing in the capital city. Tata, the industry giant of India, has launched Tata Electronics, India’s first chip manufacturing facility. A middle-of-the-road technology has been adopted. The government of India has decided to seek equity shares in this vital sector. After leaving Intel Corporation in the year 1992, I decided to pursue my dream of developing the semiconductor industry in my homeland. After several meetings with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), it was decided to conduct a market survey of the chips being sold in the local market. Based on this data, a middle-of-the-road CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) of 2-micron technology was selected. The plan was to establish a facility with foreign collaboration and a partial buyback in the NIE facility, followed by the facility’s privatisation; it was similar to the PIDC (Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation) model adopted in the sixties. With the change of government, the plan changed. PML-N wanted the private sector to take the initiative. The Israeli model was then selected. The PM (Prime Minister) of Israel met with the President of Intel and invited him to build a silicon fab in Tel Aviv. An open offer was made to accept all requirements. Today, Intel chips are being designed in this facility. On the behest of the government, I pursued this approach. In October 1999, I was in California visiting and negotiating with prospective JV partners when I heard the news of the takeover.
Old technology that still has a market makes sense, but obsolete technology has no value. Technology is driven by market forces, for which an understanding of commercial discipline is required. Finally, a Silicon Wafer Facility was started in the Defence sector in their Hassan Abdal facility, which was later shut down as there were no buyers of their output. No market survey was conducted before starting production. Usually, I do not give up, but in this case, after struggling for a decade, I decided to focus on the development of the mining and energy sectors. Now that Thar has seen the light of day and a refocus on the semiconductor sector has started, I decided to venture out to prove my friend Munir Niazi wrong and finally break the spell that keeps us from advancing. The Indian advancement in this sector cannot be ignored. Better late than never makes sense in this case. The shutdown fab can be a good starting point, provided a competent professional team is assembled to lead Pakistan in this vital sector.