PM Modi lays foundation stone of milestone semiconductor plants

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation of three chip plants on March 13, two units by Tata Electronics and the third by CG Power entailing total investment of Rs 1.26 lakh crore. Modi said only a handful of nations are manufacturing semiconductors today, and emphasised the need for a reliable supply chain after the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology said, “India will be among the top five chip ecosystems in the world by 2029. The first chip from Dholera plant will be out in December 2026 and chip from Micron plant will be out by December 2024.”

“Today is a special day for India and Tata Group. These semicon plants will be very important for the nation. PSMC has given us access to a wide portfolio of technology. Semicon is the foundational industry for everything digital. We will create more than 50,000 jobs and this is just the beginning. Chip shortages during pandemic made us realise our dependency on international supply chain. Domestic semicon industry is integral to indigenous industry. Semicon chips have defining role to play in every industry- auto, AI, defence, green tech, health, and every other industry”, said Tata Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran.

Tata Electronics is setting up in partnership with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp at Dholera’s special industrial region. The plant will have the capacity to produce 50,000 wafers per month and involve an investment of Rs 91,000 crore. The Centre will contribute 50 per cent of the CapEx on pari passu basis. These chips driven by advanced technology will cater to multiple sectors — power management chips for electric vehicles (EV), telecom, defence, automotive, consumer electronics, display, and power electronics.

CG Power, which it is setting up in partnership with Renesas Electronics Corp and Stars Microelectronics of Thailand at Sanand in Gujarat is at an investment of Rs 7,600 crore. Renesas is a leading semiconductor company focussed on specialised chips. It operates 12 semiconductor facilities and is an important player in microcontrollers, analogue, power, and system-on-chip products. The plant will have a capacity for 15 million chips per day, and will manufacture chips for consumer, industrial, automotive and power applications.

Tata’s Assam facility will be built with an investment of Rs 27,000 crore and is expected to generate over 27,000 direct and indirect jobs in the region. This will be India’s first semiconductor unit in the Northeast.

The target segments for these would be automotive, electric vehicles, consumer electronics, telecom, and mobile phones, among others.

CT Bureau