Oil was the regulator of the global economy in the 20th century, but microchips are the regulator of the global economy in the 21st century, and India is ready to become a reliable hub for the production of these memory devices, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.
He further added that his government had realised the importance of semiconductor manufacturing technology when the world was grappling with the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The government approved the country’s semiconductor policy and has so far cleared 10 projects. Four of these projects are about to start production of chips, he said.
The Prime Minister was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of India’s first semiconductor facility in Sanand, Gujarat. The Rs 22,500 crore facility has been set up by US-based chip major Micron Technology.
Modi said that Micron’s plant reflects the strong relationship between India and the United States in strategic sectors. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor was also present at the event.
The ATMP (Assembly, Test and Packaging) facility will convert advanced DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and NAND wafers into finished products for markets worldwide.
These are extensively used in products like computers, smartphones and data centres.
With its groundbreaking ceremony held in September 2023, the Micron facility was the first project to be approved under the government’s India Semiconductor Mission.
The chip unit has about 500,000 square feet of cleanroom space, ranking it among the largest raised-floor cleanrooms in the world.
The inauguration marks a strategic milestone for the country in its effort to become self-reliant in one of the most crucial components of the electronics industry.
The chip unit is also expected to generate direct employment for about 5,000 skilled professionals, with the potential to create an additional 15,000 jobs indirectly.
The government has so far approved 10 semiconductor facilities under the India Semiconductor Mission. While Micron’s facility is the first to commence commercial production, five chip manufacturing units are in advanced stages of construction. These include Micron’s ATMP facility in Sanand; Tata Electronics and PSMC’s chip fabrication unit in Dholera; an OSAT unit of CG Power and Renesas in Sanand; an OSAT facility of Kaynes Technology in Sanand; and an ATMP unit of Tata Semiconductor in Morigaon, Assam.
