Despite being about 50-60 years late, India’s production of semiconductor chips is surging ahead in mission mode, announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day address to the country on August 15 at the Red Fort in Delhi.
The country’s first made-in-India semiconductor chip will be launched in the market by the end of this year, promised the PM, as he threw light on the reasons for the delay in the chips’ manufacture and the country’s mission to compete with world powers in producing them.
"By the end of this year, made in India, made by the people of India, made in India chips will come to the market," the Prime Minister said, during the country’s 79th Independence Day address to the nation.
Six semiconductor units were already being established, while another four have been given the green light, he said.
Semiconductors, which are key components comprised in electronic devices, have a wide array of applications in mobile phones, computers, home appliances and electric vehicles.
Also Read: Four semiconductor projects worth ₹4,594 crore approved
India’s semiconductor market, which is estimated to have been about USD 45-50 billion in 2024-2025, is expected to grow twice its size to USD 100-110 billion by 2030.
The first known attempt to set up a semiconductor plant in India was made by American physicist and entrepreneur, Robert Noyce, in the late 1960s before he co-founded Intel with Gordon Moore.
But, while the idea for establishing a semiconductor industry in the country germinated more than six decades ago, it never took off owing to red-tapeism and other bureaucratic delays, said the PM.
"My dear youth, you will be surprised to know that today, the semiconductor, which has become the strength of the world; 50-60 years ago, that thought process, those files, got stuck. We lost 50-60 years [in making it]. After us, many countries, in semiconductors, today, have mastered the technology and consolidated their power," PM Modi said.
However, leaving the past behind is prudent, he stressed, adding that India is surging ahead and making up for time lost as the Union Cabinet, this week, approved four semiconductor plants to be set up, including one that is backed by US technology giant, Intel, and Lockheed Martin.
These entail a total investment of ₹4,594 crore and have been slated to be established in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab.
The Cabinet also approved a 3D glass semiconductor packaging unit to be set up by 3D Glass Solutions Inc, a company also backed by US technology majors such as Intel, Lockheed Martin and Applied Materials.
This project alone entails an investment of ₹1,943 crore, with an annual production capacity of 5 crore units and is the first semiconductor project that involves personal computer chip-maker, Intel Corporation, in collaboration with other technology partners.
The country will also have its first commercial compound fabrication unit by SiCsem for making silicon carbide semiconductors. The plant, approved by the Cabinet, will be set up in Bhubaneswar with an investment of ₹2,066 crore and will have the capacity to produce 9.6 crore chips per year.
Another chip packaging plant, which is to be set up by Advanced System in Package Technologies, will be established in Andhra Pradesh with an investment of ₹468 crore. It will have the capacity to produce 9.6 crore chips per year.
The Cabinet also cleared a semiconductor project by electronics component-maker firm, CDIL, which will be set up in Punjab with an investment of ₹117 crore, and have an annual production capacity of 15.8 crore units.
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