Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday virtually laid the foundation stone of three semiconductor projects worth about Rs 1.25 trillion, including the Rs 91,000 crore facility in Dholera, which will commence chip production by 2026.
Two of the three facilities are located in Gujarat, whereas one is based in Assam. The three projects are the Semiconductor fabrication facility at the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) in Gujarat, the Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facility in Morigaon, Assam, and an OSAT facility in Sanand in Gujarat.
While laying the foundation stone of the three new semiconductor projects through video conferencing, the prime minister said: “The projects announced today will help India to become a global semiconductor hub. These three semiconductor facilities will drive economic growth and foster innovation in the country”.
“The 21st century is electronically driven and it can't be imagined without the semiconductor chips. During the first three industrial revolutions, India was lagging due to various reasons, but the country is moving with confidence towards achieving milestones in Industry 4.0," he said.
Union Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Dholera plant was expected to start production by the end of 2026. India’s first semiconductor fabrication facility will be set up by Tata Electronics in partnership with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) at an estimated cost of Rs 91,000 crore.
The facility will be powered by renewable energy. A dedicated water supply will be provided through a Narmada river canal to the region, said officials present at the event.
The OSAT facility in Morigaon, Assam will be developed by Tata Electronics with an investment of Rs 27,000 crore.
“The plant will cater to electric vehicles, automotive, mobile phones, and power devices,” said Vaishnaw.
The Sanand OSAT facility will be set up by CG Power and Industrial Solutions Limited under the Modified Scheme for Semiconductor Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP), with a total investment of Rs 7,500 crore. All three projects are being incentivised under the India Semiconductor Mission which has an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel, Union Minister Vaishnaw, Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sharma, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, besides over 1,000 people comprising central and state government officials and industry leaders.
More than 1 lakh university students in Gujarat joined the event virtually, along with people from different institutions across the country.