Semiconductors are a strategic industry, and India’s growing prowess in the sector puts a target on its back, said the Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, warning against sabotage attempts.
“Remember, when Apple’s manufacturing started, some people did food poisoning. An organisation like Reuters ran such fake news that married women were not allowed (to work). They ran such things. Electricity wires were cut. There were many such incidents.
Citing sabotage attempts when Apple started assembling iPhones in India, he said the nation must prepare for such eventualities. People didn’t like India to come up as a manufacturer; they tried all tricks…There is an attempt to sabotage in every way,” he told NDTV Managing Editor Padmaja Joshi. He said similar attempts to sabotage India’s semiconductor sector are expected.
Semiconductor chips are found in all modern electronic gadgets, including computers, mobile phones and weapons.
He said the stakeholders in the semiconductor industry can be a target of cyber attacks, fake news and physical attacks.
