The government on Wednesday said that it has started working on the second phase of the semiconductor policy – Semicon 2.0 – which is expected to be in place in the next three to four months following approval from the Union Cabinet.
Speaking at Semicon India 2024, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics and IT, said that three to four States have attracted semiconductor investments, and a unit will soon come up in Uttar Pradesh.
“We are now at a stage when the first stage of the Semicon project is completed. Now we are formulating Semicon 2.0, which will be an expanded version of Semicon 1.0. It may take us three to four months to put it in place, as we have to work together with all the other related Ministries,” Vaishnaw told media here.
He said the government is evaluating several proposals from the industry, and some of them are “very promising” and will be soon taken up to the Cabinet for final approval. Also, the upgradation of the semiconductor lab in Mohali (Punjab) is almost ready.
“That will also be presented to the Cabinet and work on its upgradation will also start soon. So, three to four States including Assam, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and other States will soon also be included in the ecosystem,” Vaishnaw said.
The “entire ecosystem” includes equipment, specialised materials and specialised chemicals and gases, he said. The first phase of the semiconductor programme was approved in December 2021 with an incentive package of ₹76,000 crore, where the Centre extends fiscal support of up to 50 per cent of a project’s cost to eligible display and semiconductor fabs.
Semiconductor Mission’s first phase has already approved five semiconductor units with construction is underway at Micron’s unit in Gujarat, and work has begun on the Morigaon (Assam) Tata unit, with more projects set to start soon, he said.
“Securing permissions at a record pace has set a new global benchmark, underscoring India’s commitment to becoming a semiconductor hub,” Vaishnaw said.
He said that a key element of India’s semiconductor journey in the first phase has been the development of a strong talent pool. There is a commitment to train 85,000 engineers and technicians, with 113 universities, academic institutions, and R&D organisations offering integrated semiconductor-focussed courses, designed in partnership with industry leaders to ensure relevance to real-world needs.
“Programmes such as LAM Research’s Semiverse, currently running across 74 universities, have trained over 2,600 students this year alone, with plans for significant scaling in the coming years. Additionally, AMD’s global design centre in Bengaluru has opened with 5,000 engineers, with further expansion on the horizon,” he noted.
The establishment of Applied Materials’ India Validation Centre in Bengaluru, which employs 200 engineers, will also play a vital role in supporting the development of fabs and assembly, testing, marking, and packaging (ATMP) units in India, he said.
“However, I cannot comment on what will be the shape or form of Semicon 2.0. It will take another two to three months to finalise. The important thing is that we have worked on the consultation process in detail...we have consulted extensively with each ecosystem player because we have to lay the foundation for ‘Viksit Bharat’, in which we want everyone’s contribution,” Vaishnaw added.
When asked about the size of the package for the new proposal, Vaishnaw declined to provide any outlook, However, he said that in the current programme, there is a commitment of ₹1.50 lakh crore cumulatively.
According to sources, the government wants to bring in multi-billion dollar incentive packages for the semiconductor industry in India to compete with countries like the US and China which have support packages exceeding $100 billion.