Is Intel Looking To Set Up Semiconductor Unit In India?

Intel is likely eyeing to set up a plant in India in the wake of the government's decision on semiconductors that will encourage innovation and research.

Is Intel Looking To Set Up Semiconductor Unit In India/Getty

New Delhi: One of the world's biggest semiconductor manufacturers by revenue, Intel is likely eyeing to set up a plant in India in the wake of the government's decision on semiconductors that will encourage innovation and research. The Santa Clara, California-based chip-making giant did not formally make an announcement, but retweeting a tweet by Randhir Thakur, a senior vice-president and president of Intel Foundry Services, Ashwini Vaishnaw Minister for Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) welcomed Intel to India by tweeting “Intel- welcome to India”.

"Congrats to @GoI_MeitY @AshwiniVaishnaw @Rajeev_GoI for Semiconductor design & manufacturing incentives for India as hub for electronics & semiconductors. Glad to see a plan laid out for all aspects of the supply chain: talent, design, manufacturing, test, packaging & logistics," the senior VP and president of Intel Foundry Services had tweeted.

Intel - welcome to India. https://t.co/1Wy90HfAjy

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) December 28, 2021

Intel is yet to come out with an official statement. ABP Live has reached the company for a comment. 

The government's move is being seen as a step to boost manufacturing and strengthen the "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" programme. This decision will provide plenty of incentives to chip makers such as Intel to make more investments towards the production of chips in the country and the cryptic tweet from Thakur could mean that the company is looking towards setting up a semiconductor plant in the country.

Intel was recently outpaced by Samsung Electronics as the leader in the global semiconductor market by revenue in the third quarter on the back of strong memory chip sales.

According to industry tracker Omdia, Intel, which had been the top chipmaker for 11 straight quarters, slipped to number two behind Samsung "as the memory segment, where Samsung is the number one DRAM and NAND supplier, was the largest growth area for semiconductor" in the three months ending in September.