The government of India has approved a semiconductor plant, a joint venture between HCL Group and Taiwan’s Foxconn.
The new semiconductor facility, which will be located near the Jewar airport in Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority or YEIDA in Uttar Pradesh, involves an investment of $435 million or Rs 3,700 crore. The plant is expected to start commercial production in 2027, India government said in a news statement. India government did not reveal the number of jobs the manufacturing facility will create.
The semiconductor facility will have a production capacity of 20,000 wafers per month. The semiconductor plant aims to produce 36 million display driver chips annually, a crucial component in display manufacturing.
This project is the sixth plant approved under the India Semiconductor Mission, a national initiative aimed at bolstering the country’s semiconductor manufacturing capabilities. Already five semiconductor units are in advanced stages of construction, India government said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has underscored the importance of semiconductor production as a critical component of India’s economic strategy. However, despite the ambitious plans, India currently lacks an operational semiconductor manufacturing facility. The Foxconn-HCL venture emerges amidst a series of ups and downs in the country’s semiconductor sector.
Earlier this month, Gautam Adani’s group halted discussions with Israel’s Tower Semiconductor for a proposed $10-billion chip project after an internal review flagged uncertainties surrounding commercial demand, Reuters news report said. This project, initially announced by the Maharashtra government, was expected to generate 80,000 wafers monthly and create 5,000 jobs.
The sector also witnessed the collapse of a $19.5-billion joint venture between Foxconn and Indian conglomerate Vedanta in 2023 due to concerns over escalating costs and delays in approving government incentives. Despite these setbacks, several other projects remain in development, including an $11-billion chip manufacturing and testing facility by the Tata Group and a $2.7 billion chip packaging plant by U.S.-based Micron.
India’s semiconductor ambitions align with global efforts to diversify semiconductor supply chains and reduce reliance on dominant chip-producing countries like China, Taiwan, and South Korea. The government’s strategic push, combined with substantial financial investments, positions India as an emerging player in the semiconductor landscape, though significant challenges in infrastructure, technology transfer, and talent acquisition remain to be addressed.
TelecomLead.com News Desk
