Bengaluru, Feb 1 : The US Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) have announced plans to form a private-sector task force that will strengthen collaboration between the two countries in the global semiconductor ecosystem. The task force will develop a "readiness assessment" regarding the semiconductor ecosystem in India and gather industry, government, and academic stakeholders to identify near-term industry opportunities and facilitate longer-term strategic development of complementary semiconductor ecosystems. "We are thrilled to kick off this new initiative with IESA, our counterpart in India," said John Neuffer, SIA President and CEO. "India is already a major hub for semiconductor research, chip design, and equipment engineering, but its future potential is even greater," he added. It will also make recommendations on opportunities and challenges to increase India's role within the global semiconductor value chain, including chip manufacturing, apart from identifying and facilitating workforce development and exchange opportunities to benefit both countries. "IESA is excited to be part of this new taskforce in partnership with SIA," said Krishna Moorthy, IESA President and CEO. "It will be an important platform to bring together global resources to identify actionable plans to support India to increase its presence in the world-wide chip industry and then enable global collaboration," he added. /IANS