Micron groundbreaking ceremony held, 2 more semicon projects in the offing

The setting up of two more, large semiconductor projects will be finalised in the next few months, communications and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday.

Speaking to Fe, after the ground-breaking ceremony by US-based Micron, which is setting up a $2.75 billion chip assembly and packaging unit at Sanand, Gujarat, Vaishnaw said that the entire global semiconductor industry is today feeling very confident about India’s capability. “This (Micron) plant is a major milestone in India’s semiconductor journey and soon lot of industries, especially in specialised chemicals and gasses are going to complete the ecosystem,” the minister said.

He added that most of the new units to come up after Micron will be a combination of assembly, packaging and manufacturing of chips. “We are focussing to build a complete semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in the country. It is a natural process that first assembly, testing, marking, and packaging (ATMP) units come up and then we move to higher fabs,” Vaishnaw said.

Under the Rs 76,000-crore semiconductor and display manufacturing scheme, the government has received applications from 42 companies. Of these, five applications are for setting up semiconductor fabrications in India, two for setting up display fabrications, eight applications are for setting up compound and ATMP (assembly, testing, marking, and packaging) facilities, and 27 applications are for the design-linked incentive scheme.

So far, the government has approved seven applications under the ATMP scheme, according to details by ministry for electronics and information technology.

Vaishnaw said currently the demand there’s a demand of 2 trillion chips in the country, which will increase to 5 trillion in the next few years. “The plan is to fulfill the country’s demand by domestically designed and manufactured chips,” the minister said, adding that new projects are coming and Gujarat is seen taking a lead in providing active support to the industry.

Lately, Vedanta and Foxconn have separately applied to establish semiconductor fabrication units in the country.Besides the semiconductor manufacturing, the government is also creating a world class high-speed train service between Ahmedabad and Sanand in the next six months. The train will not only help companies like Micron to transport chips and related materials but will also be useful for other industries in Sanand, Vaishnaw said.

He said that India has become a trusted source globally in any kind of volatile geopolitical situation which is reflected today. The minister underlined the importance of the semiconductor industry as chips are used in practically everything today, from refrigeration to airplanes. Financial Express