Chip(per) ambitions: Why India needs its wafer fabs

livemint.com:

made-in-India’ chip from the Micron plant is expected in December 2024. This is significant, as chip shortages during the global pandemic lockdowns heightened realisation of India’s dependency on international supply chains. While the start seems promising, the odds appear to be stacked against India, for now at least.

Mint will delve into India's journey towards establishing its first semiconductor fabrication unit, and the critical role this will play in shaping the country's future. Tata Electronics Pvt. Ltd’s plant in Assam, the first of such initiatives, is expected to begin semiconductor chip production by late 2025 or early 2026.

Targeting sectors such as automotive, power, electronics, consumer, and medical, this move is a critical step towards reducing India's dependence on international semiconductor supply chains—a vulnerability starkly highlighted during the chip shortages experienced in the global pandemic lockdowns. Alongside the Assam plant, India has greenlighted several other semiconductor fabrication projects, including a notable facility in Dholera, Gujarat, by Tata-PSMC, a partnership between Tata Electronics and Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, and an OSAT (outsourced semiconductor assembly and test) facility by CG Power in partnership with Renesas. The total investment for these projects is around ₹1.25 trillion, and will help position India as a contender in the global semiconductor manufacturing sphere.