Micron Technology, a leading US-based semiconductor company, has initiated construction on its chip assembly and test facility in Sanand, Gujarat, India.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the approximately Rs 22,500 crore ($2.75 billion) project was held today, affirming India’s aspiration to become a leading semiconductor hub.
Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasized the nation’s ambition to evolve into a semiconductor powerhouse, highlighting the imminent need for an estimated 5 lakh crore chips to meet escalating demand. Vaishnaw underscored the remarkable pace of progress, noting that within three months of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Sanjay Mehrotra, President and CEO of Micron Technology, the construction of this significant plant had commenced—a development described as unparalleled.
Micron Technology has committed to investing up to $825 million in establishing the semiconductor assembly and test facility in India, receiving support from the government. The overall investment of $2.75 billion is anticipated to generate around 5,000 direct employment opportunities and offer an additional 15,000 community job openings over the next five years.
Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, termed this event as a historic and monumental moment, highlighting the country’s strides in the technology sector over the past decade. He expressed confidence that Micron’s cutting-edge facility will serve as a beacon, inspiring future investments and fostering growth within the global semiconductor ecosystem.
The Assembly, Test, Marking, and Packaging (ATMP) facility is being established on 93 acres in the Sanand GIDC-II industrial estate and is slated to commence operations within 18 months. The facility will primarily focus on converting wafers into Ball Grid Array (BGA) integrated circuit packages, memory modules, and solid-state drives.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had previously announced a 50 percent financial assistance to incentivize entities seeking to establish semiconductor manufacturing facilities within India, showcasing the government’s dedication to bolstering the country’s semiconductor sector. He further reiterated the ongoing policy reforms aimed at accelerating the growth of this critical sector during the SemiconIndia 2023 event in Gandhinagar.
