Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw (Image credit X @ashwinivaishnaw)
By Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi, February 29: Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a slew of proposals to raise the Indian stake in the semiconductor space amid growing global concerns over dependency on China. Addressing the inaugural session of the 8th Asia Economic Dialogue, External Affairs Minister Subhramanyam Jaishankar underlined the rising global concerns on disruption in the supply chain.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the establishment of three semiconductor units under ‘Development of Semiconductors and Display Manufacturing Ecosystems in India’. All three units will start construction within next 100 days, said the government in a media statement.
The extraordinary thrust on timeline assumes significance amid the belligerence of China with respect to Taiwan, which is the global factory of chips. While China has denied speculations of Beijing resorting to use force against Taiwan, the world is growing wary of the Chinese proximity with Russia to imitate Moscow in attacking Taipei.
Jaishankar in his address said: “In the years that have passed, the Dialogue has emerged as a prominent forum on geo-economics. This edition focuses very appropriately on the geo-economic challenges of our times.” He listed three categories of challenges — supply chain, technology, and over-concentration stemming from the nature of globalisation. He added that there is a need for “greater international cooperation”.
It may be noted that India had unveiled ‘Programme for Development of Semiconductors and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem in India in 2021 with a total outlay of Rs 76,000 crores. Afterwards, in June, 2023, Union Cabinet had given its nod for the proposal of Micron to set up a semiconductor unit in Sanand, Gujarat.
The approved three semiconductor units approved by the Union Cabinet include Semiconductor Fab with 50,000 wfsm capacity which will be set up by Tata Electronics Private Limited in partnership with Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC), Taiwan in Dholera, Gujarat with an investment of Rs. 91,000 crore; Semiconductor ATMP unit in Assam which will be set up by Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt Ltd in Morigaon, Assam at an investment of Rs 27,000 crore; and Semiconductor ATMP unit for specialized chips which will be set up by CG Power in partnership with Renesas Electronics Corporation, Japan and Stars Microelectronics, Thailand in Sanand, Gujarat at an investment of Rs.7,600 crore.
It may be noted that the US and Europe are growing wary of the security situations on account of Chinese chips used in cars, and others facilities. Quad, the grouping of four member nations – the US, Japan, India, and Australia – in their last summit had called for a resilient and reliable supply global chains.
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