NEW DELHI :Micron Technology Inc. intends to build several semiconductor assembly and packaging units in India in addition to its proposed manufacturing unit, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, as the company based in the US takes a long-term view of the country as a market and manufacturing destination for semiconductors.
The minister said Micron’s first investment in India catalyzed the transition of the undecided willing to consider the country as a serious part of their semiconductor assembly and, eventually, manufacturing plans; Therefore, it was in the government’s interest to ensure that the company’s first plant was operational and functional as soon as possible.
“If this first major investment by Micron is successful, and it is our job and duty to make it successful, two things will happen as a result. First, it acts as a beacon for other companies and other investments to come to Dholera or anywhere else. Second, those coming to India see the value in growing what they already have to reach even higher levels of scale. So from one point of view, it’s certainly a possible roadmap for growth. “He is absolutely right and we are absolutely clear,” the minister said in an interview last week.
The minister was referring to Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra’s comments at Semicon India 2023 in July that the semiconductor and packaging major will undertake the next phase of its expansion in the second half of the decade. The company has announced an investment of $800 million to set up a semiconductor assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP) unit in Sanand, Gujarat. Officials aware of the company’s plans said more such units would emerge after the first one comes online.
“We have created the policy framework and have secured a major global company that will start with packaging and potentially be able to move into factories within four to five years,” the minister said. He added that the government was talking to all entities in the semiconductor sector. market, noting that participation levels had multiplied from those who were previously uninterested in India taking an active interest and participating in the discussions.
He went on to add that factories, including packaging units, often spring up in large numbers in areas where they are first set up, giving the example of Malaysia and Japan, which have become ATMP hubs driven by investments from companies. individuals over the years. . “If you look at the history of how factories and packaging units have developed anywhere in the world, they start with one and, unless something terribly bad happens in the environment or government policies, they almost always end up with in an expansion into multiple factories. , multi-factory units, multi-packaging, large complexes,” he stated.
The government is providing financial assistance of approximately $1.95 billion to Micron, bringing the total investment in the project to $2.75 billion. Construction of the facility is expected to begin this year and the first phase of the project will be operational by the end of 2024.
The government has publicly said that India’s first chip is expected to hit the market in December 2024.
The second phase, beginning in the second half of the decade, will create up to 5,000 new direct jobs at Micron alongside the first phase.
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