Centre to spend Rs 4,500 crore to modernise Mohali's Semi-Conductor Laboratory

The Union Government will invest Rs 4,500 crore over the next three years to modernise and expand the Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali, Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Ravneet Singh Bittu announced during their visit to the facility today, emphatically ruling out its privatisation and declaring that SCL will remain a government-run R&D powerhouse critical to India’s semiconductor ambitions.

Speaking to The Tribune, Vaishnaw and Bittu said the Centre has formally requested the Punjab Government to allot 25 acres of land adjacent to SCL to enable the next phase of expansion, adding that “the faster the land is allocated, the faster SCL’s expansion will progress.”

Vaishnaw, who holds the portfolios of Electronics and Information Technology, Railways & Information and Broadcasting, said the investment will overhaul production lines, bring in new tools, and raise fabrication capacity to 100 times the current wafer output, marking the biggest upgrade in SCL’s history.

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Stressing that the Prime Minister has drawn a “clear and far-reaching roadmap” for SCL under the India Semiconductor Mission, he said SCL will continue to serve as a national training, innovation and fabrication hub for students, researchers, start-ups and strategic sectors. “There is no doubt. SCL Mohali will be modernised and it will not be privatised. A big journey is ahead, and India is ready for it,” he said.

During the visit, the ministers handed over 28 student-designed semiconductor chips fabricated at SCL using Electronic Design Automation tools provided under the Chips to Start-up programme, taking the total number of student-designed chips fabricated at SCL to 56. Vaishnaw said more than 300 universities are today designing chips using world-class EDA tools made available through government support -- an ecosystem he described as “unique in the world”.

The ministers also inaugurated the Semiconductor Process Gallery -- a clean-room demonstration facility offering students an authentic fab-like experience — and the Abhyuthanam Training Block that houses online and offline semiconductor training modules as well as hands-on fire and safety facilities. Vaishnaw said this large-scale skill ecosystem will become a critical pillar of India’s semiconductor capability.

On the strategic roadmap, he said India will strengthen self-reliance in high-end electronics with a consortium of CDAC, DRDO and other national agencies working jointly on indigenous design, product development and manufacturing of Swadeshi chips.

He said SCL’s role as a government-owned R&D institution will be reinforced under this strategy. “The entire team has been told very clearly: SCL will remain a government organisation and will play a major role in India’s semiconductor journey in the future,” he told The Tribune.

Highlighting the transformative potential of SCL’s upgrade, the ministers said SCL will support both commercial production as well as R&D activities, a world-class semiconductor training centre and a high-capacity fabrication line under Semicon 2.0, on which MeitY has begun internal consultations.

Vaishnaw said the expansion of SCL will contribute substantially to India’s rapidly growing semiconductor ecosystem — central to critical systems in health care, transport, communications, defence and space. “In just four years, India has moved from vision to reality. The world believes India will emerge as a major semiconductor hub,” he said.

The visit, marked by detailed briefings from SCL scientists, underscored the Centre’s intent to reposition SCL as a modernised, strategically significant and globally benchmarked semiconductor manufacturing and R&D platform -- firmly anchored in public ownership, skill development and national capability building.

Key announcements

• ₹4,500 crore to be invested over three years for full modernisation of SCL
• No privatisation — SCL to remain a government-run R&D and strategic facility
• Punjab urged to allot 25 acres next to SCL for expansion
• Production to be ramped up 100-fold with new tools and upgraded process lines
• Strong national semiconductor consortium to involve CDAC, DRDO and others
• SCL to expand fabrication support for students, researchers, start-ups

Significance of the visit

• Reinforces Centre’s commitment to building India’s semiconductor ecosystem
• Marks the biggest overhaul of SCL since its inception
• Signals rapid movement under India Semiconductor Mission and Semicon 2.0
• Anchors SCL as a national skill-building, R&D and fabrication hub

SCL’S contribution & background

• India’s only integrated device manufacturing unit offering end-to-end ASIC, MEMS and optoelectronics solutions
• Fabricated 56 student-designed chips under the Chips to Start-up programme
• Supports more than 300 universities using world-class EDA tools
• Newly inaugurated Semiconductor Process Gallery and Abhyuthanam Training Block boost India’s talent pipeline

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