Govt Approves Tata Group’s Semiconductor Chip Fabrication Unit In Gujarat

Union Cabinet Meeting: The foundry is anticipated to manufacture 50,000 wafers per month, each containing 5,000 chips

The Union Cabinet on Thursday gave a green signal to Tata Electronics' plan to establish India's inaugural pure-play foundry for semiconductor chip fabrication. Valued at Rs 91,000 crore, the project will be situated in Gujarat's Dholera district, in collaboration with Taiwanese Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC), announced Union Minister for Communications and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, during a press briefing.

The foundry is anticipated to manufacture 50,000 wafers per month, each containing 5,000 chips. This translates to an annual production of 300 crore chips, serving eight sectors: high-power computing, electric vehicles, telecommunications, defence, consumer electronics, automotive, and power electronics.

The cabinet also gave the approval to establish Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Unit's (TSAT) semiconductor testing facility in Assam and the OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) unit of Murugappa Group's CG Power in Sanand, Gujarat. These three projects entail a total investment of Rs 1,26,000 crore, with the Central government committing Rs 47,704 crore. Altogether, they are expected to generate 20,000 advanced technology jobs and create 60,000 indirect job opportunities.

TSAT's project, with an investment of Rs 27,000 crore, will be established in Assam's Morigaon district. It will boast a production capacity of 48 million chips per day, catering to various sectors, including automotive, electric vehicles, consumer electronics, telecom, and mobile phones.

On the other hand, the CG Power plant, with an investment of Rs 7,600 crore, will be established in collaboration with Renesa Electronic Corporation, Japan, and Starts Microelectronics, Thailand. This facility will produce 15 million chips per day or 550 crore chips annually for both domestic consumption and exports. The chips will be manufactured using Wire bond technology, Fip chip technology, and hybrid BGA products.

Under the Indian Semiconductor Mission (ISM), the central government will provide a 50 per cent subsidy for the project. Additionally, the Gujarat State government has proposed to offer an additional 15-25 per cent subsidy over and above the subsidies provided by the central government.