India will become one of the largest chip hubs in the next 5 years: Ashwini Vaishnav

Union Railways and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has said that India has commissioned four semiconductor manufacturing units and the country will become one of the largest semiconductor hubs in the world in the next five years.

In a wide-ranging interview with IANS, the Union Minister said that in the coming years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation for further development of the industry which will create thousands of jobs.

“There is a clear policy to bring cutting-edge technology to India – be it Artificial Intelligence, electric vehicles or semiconductors. Such policies have been made so that the youth of the country can get more employment options and domestic startups can benefit,” said Ashwini Vaishnav.

Semiconductor manufacturing remained a dream since 1960 and PM Modi finally fulfilled that dream.

“Four (chip) units have become operational today. Technology is developing. Construction is going on fast. The Union Minister said, there are full preparations to release the first chip from Micron’s Sanand plant in December itself.

Additionally, the plant being set up in Assam will use chips made there in the world’s largest EV, Ashwini Vaishnav said.

“In a way, India has huge potential because we are very strong in semiconductor design. In the same spirit, PM Modi has pledged to bring semiconductor manufacturing to India and in the next five years, India will become one of the largest semiconductor hubs in the world,” the IT Minister elaborated.

“The largest semiconductor hub will be built in the country. We will work with the same determination towards that endeavour,” he said.

In March, PM Modi had laid the foundation stone of three semiconductor projects worth Rs 1.25 lakh crore.

The chip manufacturing facility at Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) in Gujarat is being set up by Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd (TEPL) with a total investment of over Rs 91,000 crore.

With a total investment of about Rs 27,000 crore, Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facility is being set up at Morigaon, Assam by TEPL for semiconductor assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP).

The OSAT facility is being set up at Sanand, Gujarat by CG Power and Industrial Solutions Limited with a total investment of about Rs 7,500 crore for semiconductor assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP).

The first ‘Make in India’ chips are due to arrive in December from the Rs 22,500-crore Micron Semiconductor plant in Gujarat, work on which began late last year.