International Semiconductor Consortium ISMC announced on May 1 to set up a chip-making plant with an investment of $3 billion (around Rs. 23 000 crores) in Karnataka.
ISMC digital fab, one of the three applicants for the Union Government’s $10 billion incentives for semiconductors manufacturing, has already started its executions and signed the agreement with the Karnataka government. It will be the first and largest semiconductor unit in India, according to ISMC.
In regard to this, an Additional Chief Secretary in the IT department, BT Dr E V Raman Reddy and ISMC Director Ajay Jalan signed an MoU, Memorandum of Understanding, in the presence of the Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
While giving acceptance to the agreement CM Bommai said, ─ “the MoU is a significant agreement amid the competition among various states to attract semiconductor fabs. Karnataka understands that it’s not just the fiscal incentives that matter, but the availability of a conducive ecosystem and overall ease in operations are also important.”
ISMC said that it would be a 65 nm Analog Fab partnership with Israel-based semiconductors, and it is expected to generate over 1,500 direct and 10,000 indirect jobs.
For this, ISMC has bought 150 acres of land in the Kochanahalli Industrial Area in the Mysore District.
Karnataka is the largest chip design hub in India and is home to more than 300 export-oriented manufacturing units.
The Karnataka government is in the process of expanding the industrial area in Kochanahalli, which is located close to the upcoming Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) in India at Kadakola.
PM Modi’s NDA government has unveiled several measures to make India a hub of electronics manufacturing and build a semiconductor ecosystem in India. In order to increase the domestic production of electronics in India, the Union government approved the National Electronics Policy in 2019.
Semiconductors are the most critical components used in a wide range of electronics, including healthcare equipment. Like others, the healthcare industry has also been seeing semiconductor scarcity in recent months. The establishment of the chip-making plant in India will help meet the rising demands for semiconductors in every sector.
