Financial closure for fabrication units likely in four weeks

IT export promotion council head says fab units to be come up in Noida, Gujarat

The Cabinet has approved proposals for setting up semiconductor fabrication units in the country and financial closure for those could be achieved in four weeks, Chairman of Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council Vinod Sharma told Business Standard on Thursday.

He was speaking on the sidelines of an event by the council here.

“According to the information we have, of the two proposals that have recieved a nod from the government, the consortium led by Jaiprakash Associates will be setting up the unit near Noida, while the consortium led by Hindustan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation will set up the plant in Gujarat,” said Sharma.  

The total outlay for the units is Rs 45,000 crore, of which the government will be funding 50 per cent, he said.

Semiconductor fabrication units are set up to produce the most complex and valuable part of any electronic device, the chip.

At present, India imports most of its electronics devices because chips are not made locally.

“If the financial closure comes through, it will be a path breaking development in the sector,” said the chairman.

The Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council is holding a two-day event between November 26-27, where it plans to create a platform to strengthen linkages and exports of small and medium enterprises in India by bringing foreign buyers into the country.

Delegates from 60 countries are expected to visit the information technology (IT) show called ‘Indiasoft’ later this month.

“The focus of the council is to promote the small and medium enterprises which have the potential but do not really export much,” said the chairman. “This event will focus only on exports and SMEes unlike events like Nasscom which are large scale events that help big size companies,” he added.

The Indiasoft show is aimed at moving up in the value chain in developed markets like the US, Western Europe, Japan and China and alongside increase its market share in emerging markets such as Latin America, Africa, West Asia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, said the council in its release. The council also plans to come up with a similar show for the IT hardware sector and is drawing a plan for this.

ESC is in the prcoess of finalising a blueprint for holding a hardware show similar to that of Indiasoft and there is encouraging response from both union ministries of commerce and information technology for the project, it said.