Govt Secured 4 Proposals For Setting Up Semiconductor Plants, 13 For Chip Assembly Units

The government has received four proposals for building semiconductor manufacturing plants and 13 for chip assembly units, the Parliament was informed.

These proposals are in addition to the INR 22,516 Cr chip assembly plant set up by US-based memory chip maker Micron, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and IT,  said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (February 7).

“Four proposals have been received for setting up semiconductor fabs and additional 13 proposals have been received for setting up compound semiconductor fabs and ATMP ( assembly, testing, marking and packaging) facilities,” the minister said.

The government has given approval to the Semicon India programme, allocating a total budget of INR 76,000 Cr for the development of the semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem within the country.

The programme aims to offer financial assistance to companies investing in the ecosystems of semiconductors, display manufacturing, and design.

Earlier, the MoS said the proposed India semiconductor research centre (ISRC) will lead in developing India’s capabilities in the semiconductor space. Reiterating the government’s vision, the MoS said India has to become a leader in the semiconductor research space.

The global semiconductor landscape is largely dominated by a handful of companies operating out of Taiwan, South Korea and the US. This has led to an overdependence of India on a few companies for these critical components which now form the backbone of all key products from smartphones to cars. 

As a result, the union government has rolled out a red carpet for global semiconductor players to Make in India and help their Indian partners learn the ropes of the trade and leverage intellectual properties. Be it MeitY’s mega $10 Bn commitment towards the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) or the design-linked-incentives (DLIs), the Centre has left no stone unturned to scale the local semiconductor manufacturing.

Meanwhile, from Micron Technology to Foxconn have made a beeline for India and are looking to set up a base in the country. At the heart of this India pivot also seems to be the lucrative Indian semiconductor market, which is projected to grow to a market size of $55 Bn by 2026.