By Salonee Kulkarni
The Union Cabinet approved the installation of semiconductor projects worth ₹4,954 crores in four states on Tuesday, due to the supervision of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM). In India, there are ten approved chip projects in total. Six states have invested a total of Rs 1.6 lakh crore on semiconductor projects.
Since the semiconductor ecosystem in India is gaining attention, the approval of these projects enables substantial strengthening of the ecosystem. The nation, for the first time, is featuring a commercial compound fabrication facility and an advanced glass-based substrate semiconductor packaging unit.
The chip design capabilities which are emerging will be supported by the government-provided design infrastructure facilities. Telecom, datacentres, automotive, consumer electronics, and industrial electronics are amongst the few industries which require the highest supplies of semiconductor. Atmanirbhar Bharat, in a press release, mentioned how the upcoming project will leverage the possibility of fulfilling the semiconductor demands required by the industry.
SiCSem and HIPSPL will construct a semiconductor unit in Odisha. CDIL is planning to build a semiconductor unit in Punjab’s Mohali. In Andhra Pradesh, ASIP is planning to set up a semiconductor unit. 2034 skilled jobs are expected to be generated due to technological advancements. The Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said, “The complete ecosystem of design, wafer fabrication, packaging, manufacturing of components, assembly testing, and high-volume final production is in the works. This will help every sector and dimension of electronics manufacturing.”
The government, through its initiative, enables the semiconductor ecosystem to effectively function and produce outputs which benefit the industries, government and people. The world is moving from silicon to silicon carbide. The material used in products for missiles, defence equipment, EVs, railway, and fast chargers, data centre racks, and consumer appliances can sustain high voltage and temperature. It is also used in telecom tower equipment. The production of the chip spans across different sectors of the economy. Thus, its production is crucial in high-voltage industrial applications.