Micron on Friday reaffirmed its commitment to establish India’s first semiconductor plant in Gujarat, creating 5,000 direct jobs and addressing demand from domestic and international markets.
“Our team here in Gujarat will transform DRAM and NAND products…into finished component packages, memory modules and solid-state storage drives ready to ship to end customers in India and across the world,” President and CEO of the American chip maker, Sanjay Mehrotra, said at the SemiconIndia 2023. Sophisticated chips are part of everyday life, used in mobile phones, refrigerators, cars and high-tech industries, so fostering local industry with carefully-crafted schemes and policy sweeteners will link India to an ever-growing global chip market.
Micron announced its decision to set up a semiconductor assembly and test plant in Gujarat during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the United States in June this year. The move entails a total investment of USD 2.75 billion (around Rs 22,540 crore) with the total cost of the plant comprising USD 825 million (around Rs 6,760 crore) from Micron and the rest from the Indian government in two phases. The first Made in India’ chip should be ready by December 2024 from Micron’s facility coming up in Gujarat, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
The minister also added that 4-5 semiconductor plants are likely to be set up in the country within a year, and Micron’s USD 2.75 billion plant will also bring around 200 smaller units as part of the ecosystem. “Phased construction of the new assembly and test facility in Gujarat is expected to begin in 2023. Phase 1, which will include 500,000 square feet of planned cleanroom space, will start to become operational in late 2024,” Micron had stated.
India has identified chip-making as a key priority area for future growth ambitions, hoping to attract investments from global biggies looking to diversify their operations outside of China. The country hopes to play on the strength of its storied talent and skill base, vibrant market, and enabling policies to corner substantial chunk of new investments flowing into electronics and semiconductor production, and global value chains. The global semiconductor shortage has emphasised the importance of this critical component in modern-day electronics with consumer electronics, mobile phones, automobiles, computers and IoT set to fuel demand for semiconductors globally.
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