Govt keen for fab plants in India, tweaking scheme further

The government is tweaking the semiconductor and display fab scheme so that interested parties can make an application on tap instead of being subjected to a 45 day deadline, according to sources.

At present, interested applicants have to apply within 45 days to be considered eligible for financial incentives.

The new scheme will permit interested players to make an application to set up a fab plant any time without any dead ines. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) is expected to consider the proposal.

The only condition is that the proposal will be subject to the total budget earmarked for financial incentives under the semiconductor scheme which is pegged at $10 billion. However, the government has hinted that the budget can be increased, if required.

There will be no need for the government to repeatedly invite new applicants and again impose a deadline after the first proposal is cleared. The government has been looking at giving clearances for at least two semiconductor and display fab plants in India. The numbers could go up, however, as India needs many more fab plants to meet chip demand.

Both new players, as well as applicants who have already applied but found that their proposals had failed to make the cut, can go back again to rework them and resubmit under the changed scheme. Business Standard