Cabinet approves 2 new semiconductor units at cumulative investment of Rs 3 936 cr

     New Delhi, May 5 (PTI) The Cabinet on Tuesday approved two more semiconductor manufacturing units with cumulative investment of more than Rs 3,936 crore, Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
     The semiconductor projects have been approved under India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), which includes the country's first commercial mini/micro-LED display facility based on GaN (Gallium Nitride) Technology and a semiconductor packaging facility, the minister said.
     "These were the last two projects under ISM 1.0. The first project is for display. Crystal Matrix will set up a fabrication unit in two years and ATMP (assembly, testing, Marking, and Packaging) in about one and half years. Both work will go on parallely. Suchi Semicon will make chips for TV , air conditioners," Vaishnaw said.
     The semiconductor manufacturing facilities will be set up in Gujarat with a cumulative investment of about Rs 3,936 crore. The projects are expected to generate cumulative employment for 2,230 skilled professionals, out of which 1,600 will be employed by Crystal Matrix.
     South Korea-based Crystal Matrix Ltd (CML) will establish an integrated facility for compound semiconductor fabrication and ATMP in Dholera, Gujarat, for manufacturing mini/micro-LED display modules.
     Vaishnaw said the annual proposed production capacity for mini/micro-LED display panels is 72,000 square meters, and for mini-micro-LED GaN epitaxy wafers is 24,000 sets of RGB wafers.
     "It is a new technology that will benefit the country for several years," Vaishnaw said.
     He said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar played a key role in getting the interest from the South Korean firm.
     The proposed products will have applications in large displays for TVs and signages, commercial displays, medium-sized displays for tablets, smartphones, and in-car displays, and Micro-displays for Extended Reality (XR) glasses and smart watches.
     Suchi Semicon Private Limited (SSPL) will set up an Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facility in Surat, Gujarat, for manufacturing discrete semiconductors.
     With these two approvals, the semiconductor ecosystem in the country would get a significant boost as the number of approved projects under India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) reaches 12, with cumulative investments of about Rs 1.64 lakh crore.
     Vaishnaw said the government is building an entire eco-system of semiconductors.
     "We have picked up important projects for the ecosystem. The drivers that are used in making displays will be manufactured by Foxconn HCL joint venture in Noida. The entire capacity of the Micron plant inaugurated by the Prime Minister on February 28 and Keynes Semicon inaugurated on March 31 has been completely booked. Now there are no questions raised on India's capability to produce semiconductors," he said.
     Reacting on the approval of project under ISM, Suchi Semicon, Founder and Chairman, Ashok Mehta, said semiconductors are at the heart of everything around --ranging from cars, machines in factories, phones, equipment that protect the nation.
     "Suchi Semicon is establishing an Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test facility in Surat, Gujarat. This facility will serve domestic and global demand across power electronics, analog ICs, and industrial systems," he added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)