 "Modi launches 3 semiconductor units in Gujarat, Assam: Key things to know")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday virtually inaugurated an 'Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test' or Osat facility in Gujarat's Sanand, among two other semiconductor-related projects in a bid to boost India's position as a semiconductor powerhouse.
The facility has been developed by CG Power, a Murugappa Group company, in collaboration with Japanese and Thailand firms. It aims to cater to automotive, computing, data storage, wireless communication, 5G, and artificial intelligence needs.
The facility is among the three similar projects worth Rs 1.25 trillion, based in Gujarat and Assam, launched by the PM at 'India's Techade: Chips for Viksit Bharat' program. The other two units are a semiconductor fabrication facility at the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR), Gujarat, and an Osat facility at Morigaon, Assam.
5 things to know about the three semiconductor units:
1) The facility is being set up by CG Power and Industrial Solutions Limited under the Modified Scheme for Semiconductor Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP). The entire project is estimated to cost about Rs 7,500 crore.
2) The other two facilities, one at Dholera being set up by Tata Electronics Private Limited (TEPL), will be the first commercial semiconductor fab in the country.
3) The project is expected to require a total investment of over Rs. 91,000 crore. The other facility in Assam, also being set up by TEPL, will be an ATMP with an investment of Rs 27,000 crore.
4) Together these facilities will foster an environment to strengthen the semiconductor ecosystem in India, an official press release by the Centre read. "These units will also provide employment to thousands of youth in the semiconductor industry as well as catalyse employment generation in related sectors like electronics, telecom etc," it read.
5) At the inauguration, Modi highlighted the importance of electronic chips in the 21st century. The projects are aimed at leveraging India's development and give push to its self-reliance ambitions, he noted. Hailing chip-making as the fourth industrial revolution, he said India would not miss out on this opportunity as it did on the first three industrial revolutions due to various reasons.