This year marks a significant milestone for the nation’s semiconductor sector as the government revealed the first semiconductor fabrication facility in Dholera, Gujarat. According to the government, the facility is set to generate 50,000 wafer starts monthly (WSPM).

The government approved the initial fab proposal, which will be established in collaboration with Tata Electronics, a subsidiary of Tata Group, and Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC), at an expenditure of Rs 91,000 crore.

The government has approved the creation of two ATMP (assembly, testing, marking, and packaging) facilities – one in Assam and another in Dholera, Gujarat. The Morigoan plant in Assam, involving an investment of Rs 27,000 crore, is projected to create 15,000 direct jobs and 11,000 to 13,000 indirect jobs.

In addition, a semiconductor assembly and testing (OSAT) facility is being established by CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd. (CG), through an investment of Rs 7,600 crore, is a collaborative enterprise with Japan's Renesas Electronics Corporation and Thailand's Stars Microelectronics.

The planned unit will be capable of producing 60 lakh chips daily and will serve various applications, such as industrial, automotive, electric vehicles, consumer electronics, telecom, and mobile devices. The government maintained that the building of all four chip facilities is advancing swiftly, and a strong semiconductor ecosystem is developing around these facilities.

So far, the chip industry has drawn investments totaling Rs 1.26 lakh crore, which includes last year’s approval of the packaging unit by US semiconductor leader Micron Technology in Gujarat. This year, the government approved a proposal from Kaynes Semicon to set up a semiconductor facility in Sanand, Gujarat, with an investment of Rs 3,300 crore.

In a separate development, the Maharashtra government has approved a chip manufacturing initiative to be collaboratively established by Israel's Tower Semiconductor and the Adani Group. The initiative, based in Panvel, Raigad district, will require an investment of Rs 58,763 crore for the initial phase, followed by another Rs 25,184 crore in the subsequent phase, creating 15,000 employment opportunities. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has yet to approve any associated applications.