Memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for projects worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore were signed during the 19th vision summit of the India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA), held in Gandhinagar.
IESA president Ashok Chandak told FE that increasing interest of global semiconductor companies towards India shows that the country is poised for a big leap, with the end goal being a “complete ownership of the semiconductor manufacturing system”.
The MoUs signed are an addition to the existing five projects approved by the Indian Semiconductor Mission. “Within the next five-seven years, we will see more fabrication (fab) and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) plants in the country,” Chandak said.
He stressed the importance of strengthening India’s semiconductor manufacturing capacity – “OSAT plants are a good starting point for companies… These plants will cement one end of the value chain. Now, we must focus on developing a complete semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem, which could take another 10-20 years.”
Big-ticket investments announced during the summit include an MoU with Jabil India to establish a silicon photonics manufacturing unit in Gujarat with a Rs 1,000-crore investment, a financial support agreement between ISM and Tata Electronics (TEPL) for a Rs 91,526-crore semiconductor fab unit in Dholera, an MoU between Taiwan Surface Mounting Technology and the Gujarat government for an electronics manufacturing service unit at an investment of Rs 500 crore, a Rs 10,000-crore MoU between NextGen, Hitachi and SolidLight for a compound fabrication and optoelectronics facility in Gujarat and a tripartite agreement between TEPL, Himax Technologies and Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation for a fabless semiconductor plant.
“We have many companies investing in semiconductor R&D, it is our core strength. However, most companies venture towards design services, rather than taking complete ownership of producing a chip, due to financial, funding and time constraints. While India will continue to rely on semiconductor component imports for the next five-seven years, new agreements will facilitate our domestic production ambitions.” Financial Express