New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his ongoing US visit announced joint partnership between the two nations which will give a new fillip to  India’s domestic semiconductor industry. Under this venture, the US tech companies will  manufacture semiconductor chips  in partnership with Indian counterparts. These chips will have application in India’s defence equipment which will further enhance India’s national security. The chips will also have applications in other sectors like telecom  and green energy. This marks watershed movement for India’s semiconductor industry.

What is the state of India’s semiconductor industry?

The size of India’s semiconductor industry was last quoted to be $38 billion in 2023 by Union Minister of State for Information Technology, Jitin Prasada. According to him the government has set an ambitious target of expanding the industry’s size to $109 billion by 2030 at CAGR of 16%. So far, aggregate of Rs 1.49 lakh crore investment outlay has been through strategic public-private partnership in  four plants. The Government has earmarked Rs 59,000 crore fiscal support for all the four plants.

How many semiconductor factories are there in India?

Currently, there are four semiconductor plants in the country which are as follows:

1. Tata Group’s semiconductor plant in Gujarat:

The first one is of Tata Electronics Private Limited (TEPL). The company had got government’s approval to set up a chip manufacturing plant in Dholera, Gujarat in partnership with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC).  

2. Tata Group’s second semiconductor plant in Assam:

The second factory is also of Tata Group. Its subsidiary, Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Private Limited (TSAT)  will open a chip manufacturing plant in (Morigaon) Assam. The Tata Group will operate this factory in partnership with two large US based conglomerates (the names of which are not out in public domain yet).

3. Murugappa Group’s Semiconductor Plant in Gujarat:

The third semiconductor factory is of Murugappa Group owned CG Power in Sanand (Gujarat). The Indian conglomerate is in the process of setting up the plant with Japan’s Renesas Electronics Corporation and Thailand’s Stars Microelectronics.

4. Micron’s Plant in Gujarat

American technology company Micron too has a chip manufacturing facility in Gujarat. Three of the four semiconductor plants in the country are in the Jewel state of Western India.