So far, India does not have a single modern semiconductor factory for chip production, but is completely dependent on imports – with correspondingly huge problems, especially in the last two years. That is about to change, as construction of the first “Fab” could start as early as February next year.
India has large branches of industry and many factories, in which for many countries and corporations in the western world. Automobile manufacturers such as Renault-Nissan and Hyundai are here, Samsung builds televisions, washing machines and refrigerators, Dell even builds PCs, Foxconn and Pegatron, as large contract manufacturers for countless companies, also have locations in the country. But a lot of what is assembled here is imported beforehand. You don't manufacture your own chips here in a modern form.
When Western countries began to set up their own “Chips Act” or otherwise put together large subsidy packages for the semiconductor industry, India also had to react. A program was launched that provided around ten billion US dollars to start the settlement of the semiconductor industry.
Already in May of this year there were the first signs that a consortium would take over the construction of a 3 billion US dollar plant. The International semiconductor consortium (ISMC) is a partnership between two Indian companies, the Abu Dhabi-based financial services provider NextOrbit Ventures and Tower Semiconductor – which Intel claims to have acquired for 5.4 billion US dollars at the beginning of the new year. However, according to Indian media reports, Tower Semiconductor will only be the technology partner with a maximum share of 15 percent.
The fab is to be built in the Indian state of Karnataka, with its capital Bengaluru, which is already well known in the IT sector. It is designed for a production of 40,000 wafers in the size of 12 inches (300 mm). Initially, 65 nm is targeted as the production technology, but steps up to 40 nm are planned. First, the automotive industry and the military are to be supplied.
The plans go much further
However, India's plans are to be significantly expanded. In the short term, a joint venture between Foxconn and Vedanta could build a large complex, and a consortium from Singapore also has plans to build a factory in India, although details are still vague. Micron is also said to be looking for a location, and the government has also approached industry giants such as TSMC, Intel, Globalfoundries and others. In the luggage are the usual 50 percent and more in subsidies that would be paid for a settlement.
In the long term, India wants to invest significantly more money in the area, up to 30 billion US dollars According to the latest reports, it could now be -dollars. The possible potential of India is often brought into play, with reference to rich Singapore being popular. Just under six million people live there and work in a wide range of IT industries and fabs, in India there will soon be 1.4 billion people without their own footprint in this area. It is hoped that this will have changed significantly in 25 to 30 years.