Amidst the ongoing proceedings of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024, Ashwini Vaishnav, Union Minister for Railway, Communication & Electronics, and IT, unveiled that Micron’s semiconductor fabrication facility at Sanand GIDC in Gujarat is poised to deliver India’s inaugural domestically produced semiconductor chip by the culmination of this year.

Highlighting the significance of semiconductor as a foundational industry akin to the steel sector, Vaishnav expounded on its role, intricately interwoven with numerous ancillary industries. The expeditious establishment of Micron’s manufacturing unit has not only bolstered confidence in India’s growth narrative but has also garnered global recognition. Consequently, Simmtech, one of the world’s foremost substrate manufacturing companies, inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Gujarat. Under this agreement, Simmtech commits to establishing a substrate manufacturing facility at Sanand GIDC, complementing Micron’s production endeavors.

Pursuant to the MoU, the Japanese entity is set to infuse Rs 1,250 crore into erecting its manufacturing facility in the state. A designated area of 30 acres at Sanand Industrial cluster has been allocated by the Gujarat government for the proposed manufacturing unit.

Vaishnav elucidated that Simmtech is slated to commence operations within the next few months, with the production unit anticipated to be operational before December 2024. Leveraging the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS), Simmtech is entitled to a 25% capital subsidy, augmented by state-specific benefits contingent on Gujarat’s Electronic Manufacturing Policy.

The Minister underscored the monumental strides towards establishing a comprehensive semiconductor ecosystem, citing Tata Sons’ announcement of a Fab manufacturing unit at Dholera as an additional indication in the same trajectory. Noteworthy is the assertion that Tata’s proposed fab manufacturing unit will surpass Micron’s in scale. Phase 1 of Micron’s plant is slated to be fully operational by 2025, with the company actively recruiting local talent for its burgeoning manufacturing unit. Micron Technology’s CEO, Sanjay Mehrotra, stated, “We have already enlisted approximately 2,000 workers from the indigenous talent pool, undergoing training at the Micron laboratory in Mohali and our manufacturing unit in Malaysia.”

Vaishnav also delved into MoUs between NamTech, a technologically aligned training institute, Microne, and Cisco, a prominent digital communication technology firm. These agreements are centered around nurturing a local talent pool adept in the intricate manufacturing and design processes integral to the semiconductor ecosystem.