India kicks off work on 3 semiconductor factories

India on Wednesday ushered in its `Techade’ with Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying foundation stones for three semiconductor factories, involving a combined investment of Rs1.25 lakh crore.

The three plants include the Rs91,000-crore Tata-PSMC chip foundry at Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) in Gujarat, the Rs27,000-crore assembly plant proposed by Tata Electronics Private Limited (TEPL) under the Modified Scheme for Semiconductor Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) and the Rs7,600-crore CG Power-Renesas facility at Sanad, Gujarat.

Union minister of state for electronics and IT, skill development and entrepreneurship, and jal shakti Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who also participated in the virtual function, said the three units will help propel India to the position of a global hub for semiconductors,

The three semiconductor fabrication facilities include the one proposed at Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) in Gujarat and the assembly and test facilities (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test facilities) at Morigaon, Assam; and at Sanand, Gujarat.

Chandrasekhar rued the fact that India, despite having a vast pool of with technology professionals India was deprived of a thriving tech ecosystem.   

While Indian talent has made its mark on every major semiconductor company globally, this country is yet to utilise the skills of young Indians, especially in next-generation chip design, semiconductor research, and manufacturing, the minister pointed out.

He said the development of a semiconductor ecosystem will help provide employment to thousands of youth in the country as well as catalyse employment generation in related sectors like electronics, telecom etc.