Micron Technology on Saturday will break ground for its semiconductor testing and assembly plant in Gujarat’s Sanand, just three months after its announcement to set up the unit. The facility is coming up at a total proposed investment of $2.75 billion.
“The whole world is watching our semiconductor programme,” Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw told ET.
While Micron has committed to invest $825 million, the rest will be covered by subsidies. The plant will likely be operational by late 2024, with the investment being the largest so far under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM).
Vaishnaw, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and key executives from Micron are likely to be present at the event.
Micron is the first proposal approved by the government under the mission. The deal was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to US in July.
“It’s a very significant proposal, and within a very short time frame of just a few months — land allocation, all the project agreements were signed and now the actual construction work will begin,” said Vaishnaw. “The world will take notice of the speed at which the project has been executed and it will bring in a significant change in the way people will evaluate India in the future.”
The ecosystem partners necessary for the plant have identified locations for setting up their plants, and training programmes as well as hiring have been initiated, said the minister. “We can expect the first made-in-India chips to be rolled out by December 2024,” the minister said.
The $10-billion ISM was announced in December 2021. The government proposed a capital subsidy of 50%, with state subsidies of 15-25% for companies interested in manufacturing chips in India. The move aims to kick-start a chip manufacturing ecosystem.
Micron also plans to set up three to four domestic chip fabrication units, a government official told ET. “We have always believed that if ATMP comes, fab will also come,” he said. “They (Micron) have started discussing a proposal for a fab. Three to four fab (units) will come together. (They) may not cost that much because a lot of activities will be common for them.”
Seven applications of the eight received, have been approved by Vaishnaw’s ministry under the ATMP scheme.
Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test has proposed to invest Rs 200 crore in Karnataka's Kolar district. The company aims to manufacture semiconductor devices such as diodes, transistors, semiconductor-based transducers, photosensitive semiconductor devices and LEDs.
The new dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and NAND assembly and test facility will expand its global manufacturing base for Micron. It aims to address demand from domestic and international markets.
Phased construction of the new assembly and test facility in Gujarat is expected to begin this year, with Phase 1 will including 500,000 square feet of cleanroom space. Micron expects Phase 2 to start towards the second half of the decade.
The project is expected to create up to 5,000 direct Micron jobs and 15,000 community jobs over the next several years.
Micron will receive 50% fiscal support for the total project cost from the central government under the government's modified ATMP scheme. It will also receive incentives representing 20% of the total project cost from Gujarat.
