In a major boost to India’s chip manufacturing ecosystem, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved ₹4,600 crore for four new semiconductor manufacturing projects in Odisha, Punjab, and Andhra Pradesh. These will be set up under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), bringing the total number of approved semiconductor projects to 10 across six states.
India’s Expanding Semiconductor Ecosystem
- Total Projects Approved: 10 (including earlier six projects)
- Total Investment: ~₹1.60 lakh crore
- Direct Jobs Created: Over 2,000 skilled positions
- Indirect Jobs: Several thousand more in supporting industries
- Target Sectors: Telecom, automotive, data centres, consumer electronics, industrial automation, renewable energy, and defense.
The Four New Semiconductor Projects
1. SiCSem Private Limited – Odisha
- Partnership: Clas-SiC Wafer Fab Ltd., UK
- Location: Info Valley, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
- Significance: First commercial Silicon Carbide (SiC) compound semiconductor fab in India
- Capacity: 60,000 wafers/year & 96 million packaging units/year
- Applications: Defence, electric vehicles, railways, data centres, solar inverters, consumer electronics.
2. 3D Glass Solutions Inc. – Odisha
- Technology: Vertically integrated advanced packaging & embedded glass substrate manufacturing
- Capacity: 69,600 glass panel substrates/year & 50 million assembled units/year
- Applications: High-performance computing, AI, automotive, photonics, defense.
3. ASIP Technologies – Andhra Pradesh
- Partnership: APACT Co. Ltd., South Korea
- Capacity: 96 million units/year
- Products: Semiconductor components for mobile phones, set-top boxes, automotive electronics, consumer devices.
4. Continental Device India Pvt. Ltd. (CDIL) – Punjab
- Location: Mohali (brownfield expansion)
- Products: High-power devices — MOSFETs, IGBTs, Schottky diodes, transistors (Silicon & SiC)
- Capacity: 158 million units/year
- Applications: EVs, renewable energy, power conversion, communication systems.
Strategic Importance of the Projects
- First SiC Compound Fab in India: Strengthens domestic supply chain for high-performance electronics.
- Balanced Regional Development: Spread across east (Odisha), north (Punjab), and south (Andhra Pradesh).
- Import Reduction: Reduces reliance on foreign semiconductor imports.
- Global Competitiveness: Positions India as a potential chip manufacturing hub in Asia.
Supporting Ecosystem and Talent Development
The government is also building a strong semiconductor design ecosystem,
- 278 academic institutions supported for R&D and design initiatives.
- 72 chip design startups receiving incentives.
- 60,000+ students trained for semiconductor industry needs.