Semiconductor Units Will Further Boost India’s Journey Towards Technological Self-Reliance: PM Modi

A day after the Union Cabinet approved proposals to set up three semiconductor plants, including a mega fab by Tata Group, at a cumulative investment of INR 1.26 Lakh Cr,  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (March 1) said that these units will strengthen India’s transformative journey towards the direction. 

“With the Cabinet approval of 3 semiconductor units under the India Semiconductor Mission, we are further strengthening our transformative journey towards technological self-reliance. This will also ensure India emerges as a global hub in semiconductor manufacturing,” Modi said on X.

On Thursday (February 29), the Union Cabinet gave nod to the country’s first semiconductor fab to be set up by the Tata Group in partnership with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC). 

The Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd’s (TEPL’s) semiconductor fabrication plant will come up in Gujarat’s Dholera with a capacity of 50,000 wafers per month, said IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

A net investment of INR 91,000 Cr will go into the fab.

Besides, the Cabinet okayed two other semiconductor proposals. Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt Ltd (TSAT) will set up a chip assembly and testing unit in Assam at an investment of INR 27,000 Cr, Vaishnaw said.

Meanwhile, CG Power and Japan’s Renesas will set up a semiconductor plant in Gujarat’s Sanand at an estimated cost of INR 7,600 Cr, producing 15 Mn chips per day.

Last month, Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar informed the Parliament that the government secured four proposals for building semiconductor manufacturing plants and 13 for chip assembly units. He added that these are additional to the INR 22,516 Cr chip assembly plant by the US-based memory chip maker Micron. 

Meanwhile, tech mammoth Samsung has also unveiled its new semiconductor research and development (R&D) facility in the country, under its arm Samsung Semiconductor India Research (SSIR).  

The facility is likely to be opened up in Bengaluru. The facility will be designed to drive cutting-edge semiconductor research and development, while addressing the company’s growing needs for advanced infrastructure. 

This is SSIR’s second office in the city, which spans 1.6 Lakh square feet across four floors, and designed to accommodate about 1,600 employees. 

The announcements come after the MeitY announced last year that it would support the development of artificial intelligence (AI)-operated chips under the semiconductor mission. Chandrasekhar said that the government would also push for the development of a unified platform for datasets and a public-private partnership to create substantial computing capacity for startups and researchers.