India will soon have two end-to-end semiconductor fabrication units, including an $8 billion initiative from Israel-based Tower Semiconductors, IT Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said.
The other proposal for the chip making project is led by the Tata Group.
"I am happy to share this with you and you are probably the first one I'm sharing this with. In the near term, two full-blown fabs are going to come up in India, Chandrasekhar told PTI in an interview.
He added, "These are going to be multi-billion-dollar fabs in the 65, 40 and 28-nanometer technology and there are going to be a host of other packaging proposals that we are evaluating."
The Union government has been presented with four proposals for semiconductor manufacturing plants, along with thirteen proposals for chip assembly, testing, monitoring, and packaging (ATMP) units.
These developments supplement the ongoing efforts in the sector, including the construction of a Rs 22,516-crore chip assembly plant by the US-based memory chip manufacturer Micron in Gujarat.
The minister likened India's semiconductor journey to its electronics sector, noting a parallel neglect prior to 2014.
He claimed that for 75 years, India missed significant opportunities in semiconductors.
"India has played a big role in that shift in the last five years. India will play a big role in the coming five years … Electronics manufacturing, we were almost absent. To put it in the words of Tim Cook (Apple CEO), three years ago there were no Apple phones being manufactured in India. We were importing 100 per cent of all mobile phones. Today we are exporting $10-12 billion of Apple and Samsung mobile phones," the minister said.
"We have an absolutely clear view in the government and the prime minister, that smartphones IT, laptops, servers or hardware is an area that we want to be global champions and leaders and play the role of being a very trusted partner to the GVCs for enterprises, governments and people of the world," he added.
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