50% aid for setting up chip units: PM Modi

New Delhi, July 28

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India was rolling out a red carpet for the semiconductor industry and would offer 50 per cent financial assistance to firms that set up facilities here, as top industry leaders, including Foxconn and Micron, announced investment plans that would boost the domestic electronics manufacturing and job potential.

‘First chip in 2.5 years’

Vedanta group chairman Anil Agarwal has said the first phase of its semiconductor project will involve $5 billion investment. It will be ready with made-in-India chip in two and a half years.

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The PM was inaugurating Semicon India-2023 in Gandhinagar, and hoped for India to emerge as a trusted partner in a reliable chip-manufacturing global supply chain.

Semicon courses

Soon, 300 engineering colleges will start semicon courses. In five years, we will have one lakh-plus design engineers. Narendra Modi, PM

“Investors trust India because it has a stable, responsible and reform-oriented government…India ticks all boxes to become a good conductor for semicon investments,” the Prime Minister said, asking global firms to “make in India” for its fast expanding neo middle class and also “make for the world”. He wooed the industry citing India’s fast-expanding seamless power supply systems, digital revolution, one of the lowest corporate tax rates globally, faceless taxation and ease of business.

“India’s rising neo-middle class is a powerhouse of our aspirations…You have to build for them. Early entrants will have the first mover’s advantage,” the PM said days after the world’s largest electronics manufacturer Foxconn withdrew from $19.5 billion chip-making joint venture with Vedanta.

Today, Foxconn chairman Young Liu was quoted by Reuters as saying that the company will invest $2 billion in India over five years.

“I am very optimistic of the way India is headed. PM Modi once said IT stands for India and Taiwan. Taiwan is and will be India’s most trusted partner,” Foxconn chief Young Liu said.

US chipmaker Advanced Micro Device chief Mark Papermaster announced $400 million worth of investments over five years and plans to build the firm’s largest design centre at Bengaluru.

US electronics major Micron declared $825 million investments with CEO Sanjay Mehrotra announcing that Micron’s planned semicon assembly and test facility in Gujarat would create nearly 5,000 direct jobs and an additional 15,000 jobs in the community. Construction of the facility is expected to begin in 2023. Phase 1, which will include 5,00,000 sq ft space, is estimated to be operational by late 2024, the company said.

Earlier, the PM said the government was undertaking policy reforms to boost the electronics sector and had transitioned from being a mobile phone importer to an exporter.