The Union cabinet has approved four semiconductor projects — entailing a total investment of ₹4,594 crore — for Odisha, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday.
The proposals have been approved under the India Semiconductor Mission, which has an outlay of ₹76,000 crore to provide financial support to set up chip manufacturing facilities in the country.
The minister said that a silicon carbide semiconductor plant will be set up in Bhubaneswar at an investment of ₹2,066 crore by SiCsem. The plant will have a capacity to produce 9.6 crore chips per year.
“Silicon carbide is a very robust material and can sustain at high temperatures. Silicon carbide is used in our missiles, satellites, telecom towers, rockets and railway engines,” Vaishnaw said.
The cabinet also approved an Intel-backed 3D glass semiconductor unit in Odisha at an investment of ₹1,943 crore. The plant will be set up by Heterogenous Integration Packaging Solutions with an annual production capacity of 5 crore units. The project will be backed by US firm Lockheed Martin as well.
A chip packaging plant in Andhra Pradesh, to be set up by Advanced System in Package Technologies at an investment of ₹468 crore, was also approved by the cabinet. It will have a capacity to produce 9.6 crore chips per year. The cabinet also cleared a project by CDIL in Punjab at an investment of ₹117 crore and an annual capacity of 15.8 crore units.
“Building on its strong chip design foundation, India is now set to turbocharge indigenous manufacturing, cutting down on reliance on imports. The projects will significantly cater to the growing demand for semiconductors in sectors such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, and industrial applications. This gives great positioning to the country in semiconductor technology and a great decision like this is welcome,” said Ajai Chowdhry, founder of HCL.