Four new chip plants cleared
'The highest value addition for electronics in the world is at 38% (China), which they achieved in three decades. India will reach there in 1.5 decades,' said Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister of electronics and information technology, at a media briefing at Rail Bhawan. The minister said that with these four additional units, value addition in electronics in India will rise from the current nearly 20% to over 30%.
The newly approved projects include SiCSem Pvt. Ltd. in Odisha, with a ₹2,066 crore investment, which will produce silicon carbide-based diodes and MOSFETs; Heterogeneous Integration Packaging Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (HIPSPL) which will invest ₹1,943 crore to produce 70,000 glass panels annually; Continental Device India Pvt. Ltd. (CDIL) which will set up a facility high-power discrete semiconductor components in Mohali with an investment of ₹117 crore and a production capacity of up to 158 million units per year; and Advanced System in Package Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (ASIP) which will invest ₹468 crore to manufacture 96 million units of chips used in consumer electronics annually.
'The industry is witnessing a shift from silicon to silicon carbide, as the latter remains stable under high temperatures and high voltages,' said Vaishnaw. 'In applications like missiles or rockets, where electronics operate in extreme conditions, silicon carbide is the preferred choice.'
The minister added that a dedicated research unit for silicon carbide has been established at IIT Bhubaneswar with an investment of ₹45 crore. 'Researchers there have successfully experimented with making wafers from silicon carbide powder,' he said. 'They heat the powder to 2,400 degrees Celsius, turning it into vapour, which is then deposited in layers onto a seed-sized piece of silicon carbide. This process is repeated until the crystal grows to about the size of a potato. Then they slice and make wafers out of it.'
The facilities are expected to start construction in the next six months, as was the case with the six semiconductor plants announced previously. HT has learnt that the SiCSem facility in Odisha will be completed by 2027.
'India is making rapid strides in the semiconductor sector, building a robust ecosystem to power our digital future and drive global innovation. Today's Cabinet decision relating to approval of semiconductor units in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Punjab will boost manufacturing capacity, create high-skilled jobs and position India as a key player in the global supply chain' said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a post on X.
The ISM, launched in 2021 with an outlay of ₹76,000 crore, has so far approved six units - four in Gujarat, one in Assam, and one in Uttar Pradesh. The minister said that the first made-in-India chip is expected to come out in the next two to three months, and that there is serious competition brewing between three of these units to produce the first made in India chip before 2025.
A senior IT ministry official told HT that the three competing units are all located in Gujarat, namely the Tata-Micron OSAT facility, the CG Power-Renesas OSAT facility, and the Kaynes Technology OSAT facility. All three are located in Sanand. To be sure, the first 'made-in-India' chip will be a packaged chip, not one produced by a fabrication unit.
The latest announcement positions India to meet at least 50–60% of its semiconductor demand in the coming decade, Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of the India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA), told HT. 'There are significant geo-economic challenges and Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) in a foundational industry, and friend-shoring are critical national policies for foundational industries like Semicon,' he added.
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