“Focussed government support”, a state-backed “risk capital fund” and talent availability will play a crucial role in ensuring continued momentum for attracting investments from semiconductor companies in India, said semiconductor players who were in Gujarat on Wednesday.
“As a company we are optimistic about India and the specific opportunities it offers in the years ahead. We have made a promising start. But to continue this momentum India needs further and focussed government support. This includes providing incentivisation schemes for manufacturing, research and design and ensuring predictability in customs and regulatory frameworks,” Gursharan Singh, Senior Vice-President, Micron Technology during his visit to Gujarat SemiConnect summit at Gandhinagar, Wednesday.
Micron felt that India can enhance global competitiveness by fostering international partnerships and adopting advanced technology. “For India to continue to developing its semiconductor ecosystem it is imperative that semiconductor companies have access to quality and reliable power as well as clean water. Equally critical is the development of civil infrastructure in Sanand including convenient housing options for employees, high-speed rail connectivity, finished roads, public transport, hotels, international schools and hospitals. As India encourages global suppliers to consider localisation, direct flight connectivity between Ahmedabad and established semiconductor hubs such as Taiwan, South Korean and Japan are essential to facilitate new investments,” Singh said thanking the government for direct flights between Ahmedabad and Singapore.
ATMP Facility
Micron is setting up an Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) facility at Sanand which will enable assembly and test manufacturing for both DRAM and NAND products and address demand from domestic and international markets. “Micron’s Sanand facility has catalysed a cluster of semiconductor manufacturing investments in Gujarat. As these clusters swell, they will require investments in physical infrastructure, logistics ,special economic zones and a skilled workforce to support a semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem,” he added.
Srini Chinamilli, Co-founder and CEO of Tessolve said that a state-backed “risk capital fund” that exists in China for semiconductor units is missing in India. These demands from the semiconductor industry come at a time when the government of India is working on a Semicon 2.0 policy to further incentivise and boost the growth of semiconductor industry. The first edition of the Semicon India programme had an outlay of ₹76,000 crore for developing semiconductor and display manufacturing of semiconductors in India.
Girish Chaturvedi, chairman CG Semi Pvt Ltd — which is setting up a semiconductor facility at Sanand — said, “For establishing the semiconductor business a strong initial support from both Central and State government support in all areas including financial and non financial and operational assistance. We all agree that the future of semiconductors in India is promising. To build a complete semiconductor ecosystem, we will need to have two key developments — supply chain and talent.” CG Semi is targeting to start production from its “mini plant” at Sanand by 2026.