India said that it has received five applications for semiconductor and display fabs with total investment to the tune of $20.5 billion (Rs 153,750 crore) under the India Semiconductor Mission, which has been set up as a dedicated institution for the Semicon India Programme. A fab is a production facility for manufacturing advanced electronic products.
Vedanta in a joint venture with Foxconn, IGSS ventures Pte Ltd, Singapore and ISMC have submitted applications for Semiconductor Fabs.
India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said it received applications for setting up 28nm to 65nm semiconductor fabs with a capacity of approximately 120,000 wafers per month and the projected investment of $13.6 billion wherein fiscal support from the Central Government is being sought for nearly $5.6 billion.
Semiconductors are the building blocks of electronic devices ranging from smartphones and cloud servers to modern cars, industrial automation, critical infrastructure and defence systems. The semiconductor manufacturing process is a complex, capital and technology-intensive process of fabricating semiconductor wafers.
The Indian semiconductor market stands at $15 billion in 2020 and is estimated to reach $63 billion by 2026, as per an official statement.
The ministry said that Vedanta and Elest have submitted applications for display fabs with the projected investment of $6.7 billion wherein fiscal support from the Central Government is being sought for nearly $2.7 billion.
Displays constitute a significant portion of electronic products. India’s display panel market is estimated to be $7 billion and is expected to grow to $15 billion by 2025.
“Under the Scheme for setting up of display fabs in India, applications have been filed for setting up Gen 8.6 TFT LCD display fab as well as 6th Generation display fab for the manufacture of State-of-art AMOLED display panels that are used in the advanced smartphones,” the ministry said in an official statement.
The ministry said that India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) will now coordinate with the applicant companies who have also reached out to states to provide access to infrastructure. The ISM will also work closely with the state governments to establish high-tech clusters with 300 – 500 acres of developed land, 100 KVA Power, 50 MLD of water, availability of natural gases and common facility centres for testing and certification.
The Indian government had in December 2021 approved the Semicon India Programme with an outlay of $10 billion. “The first round of applications was invited till February 15, 2022 for the establishment of semiconductor and display fabs. Despite aggressive timelines for submission of applications in this greenfield segment of semiconductor and display manufacturing, the scheme has elicited good response,” the release added.
The ministry said that SPEL Semiconductor LtdHCL, Syrma Technology and Valenkani Electronics have registered under this Scheme for Semiconductor Packaging; and Ruttonsha International Rectifier Ltd. has registered under this Scheme for Compound Semiconductors.
In order to establish a trusted electronics value chain in the areas of application of fabrication and packaging technologies, Scheme for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors Fab and Semiconductor Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) /OSAT facilities in India is being implemented.
The statement also revealed that the SCL Mohali has also been handed over to the IT ministry (MeitY) from the Department of Space and it is being opened up as a commercial fab for wider participation by Indian semiconductor design companies.
“This is expected to strengthen India’s quest for AtmaNirbhar Bharat in semiconductors,” it added.
The applicant companies have also submitted the proposals for technology acquisition, partnerships and collaborations with research institutes as part of the applications. “This is expected to boost the Indian economy and generate a skilled pool of manpower along with significant employment generation,” the ministry said.
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