The India Semiconductor Mission, which was established as a dedicated entity for the Semicon India Program, has received five applications for Semiconductor and Display Fabs totalling Rs 153,750 crore in investment.
According to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), companies such as Vedanta in a joint venture with Foxconn; IGSS ventures pte, Singapore; and ISMC have applied for Semiconductor Fabs. Applications have been submitted for the establishment of 28 nm to 65 nm semiconductor fabrication facilities with a monthly capacity of around 120,000 wafers and an estimated investment of $13.6 billion, with the central government providing nearly $5.6 billion in fiscal support.
On December 15, the Union Cabinet authorised the Semicon India Programme with an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore to expand and deepen electronic manufacturing and to enable the establishment of a Semiconductor and Display ecosystem in the country.
According to MeitY, the first round of applications for the establishment of Semiconductor and Display Fabs is open through February 15, 2022. Despite the scheme’s stringent timeline for application submission, it has received a positive response.
Semiconductors are the fundamental components of electronic devices ranging from smartphones and cloud servers to modern automobiles, industrial automation, vital infrastructure, and military systems. The Indian semiconductor market is predicted to be worth $15 billion in 2020 and would grow to $63 billion by 2026. Semiconductor manufacturing is a time-consuming, capital-intensive, and technology-intensive process that involves the fabrication of semiconductor wafers.
Displays account for a sizable share of all electrical products. The display panel market in India is predicted to be around USD 7 billion and is expected to reach USD 15 billion by 2025. Applications have been made under the Scheme for Establishment of Display Fabs in India for the establishment of a Gen 8.6 TFT LCD Display Fab and a 6th Generation Display FAB for the fabrication of state-of-the-art AMOLED display panels used in modern smartphones.
Two businesses, Vedanta and Elest, have submitted applications for Display Fabs with an estimated investment of $6.7 billion and a request for roughly $2.7 billion in fiscal support from the central government.
The Semiconductor and Display Fab Scheme applicants have been acknowledged by the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), which was established as an independent institution to spearhead the Semicon India programme.
ISM will work with the applicant companies and states to ensure that they have access to world-class infrastructure. It will collaborate closely with state governments to construct high-tech clusters with 300-500 acres of developed land, 100 kilowatts of power, 50 million gallons of water, natural gas supply, and shared testing and certification facilities.
To develop a trusted electronics value chain in the fields of fabrication and packaging technologies, a scheme is being implemented to establish Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors Fabs and Semiconductor Assembly, Testing, Marking, and Packaging (ATMP) /OSAT facilities in India.
Four firms have registered under this Scheme for Semiconductor Packaging, including SPEL Semiconductor Ltd., HCL, Syrma Technology, and Valenkani Electronics; and Ruttonsha International Rectifier Ltd has registered under this Scheme for Compound Semiconductors.
SCL Mohali has also been transferred to MeitY from the Department of Space, and it is being opened up as a commercial fab for greater involvement by Indian semiconductor design businesses, as per the aforementioned Cabinet clearance. This is likely to bolster India’s efforts to achieve AtmaNirbhar Bharat status in semiconductors. India is a desirable place for semiconductor design, with over 50,000 design specialists and a plethora of design services firms. In the previous few years, India has designed around 2000 integrated circuits and chips.
The Design Linked Incentive Scheme has been successful in creating interest among domestic enterprises and startups that have submitted applications through the India Semiconductor Mission’s application portal. Three businesses have applied under this Scheme: Terminus Circuits, Trispace Technologies, and Curie Microelectronics.
