India's arrival on the Global Semiconductor Scene.

India appears to have burst onto the Global Semiconductor scene as the newest hub for Fabrication plants.? ? While India has always had a drive to secure its spot on the Global Semicon market, it has achieved some major steps in a short period of time.

By the end of March, at least 5 major projects have been announced in India and a significant amount of state and private investment has been made.

Leading the charge was FOXCON Technology who announced that they were to? invest more than $1.5 billion in an Indian construction project to fulfill the Apple supplier’s operational needs.

In September 2023, Micron Technology laid the foundation for constructing its first semiconductor plant in the state.? The $2.75 Billion investment required for the site is split between Micron and state and central government with Micron’s investment being approx. $825M.? The plant is targeted to start production by Dec 2024.

In Feb 2024 India approved $15B in semiconductor plant investments to build three new semiconductor plants, including its first semiconductor fab facility. These Fab’s are to be built as a Joint venture between the TATA group and PSMC. The Group will set up the foundry in Gujarat’s Dholera. The plant will have a capacity to produce 50,000 wafers per month.

In another round of investing, the Indian government has also approved an investment of $916 million from Japan’s Renesas Electronics and Thailand’s Stars Microelectronics to work with the Indian company CG Power to produce specialized chips in Sanand of Gujarat.

Also in February,? Israeli semiconductor manufacturer Tower Semiconductor submitted its proposal to establish a semiconductor fabrication facility in India worth around $8 billion. According to latest reports, the approval for the facility is pending government review.

While the investment is being seen in the establishment of Fab’s, India is also poised to benefit from the development of the supply chain support ecosystem. India expects that the jobs and future investment will not just be in semiconductors, but also in the discreet component or electronics sector, the design and innovation ecosystem’s associated with semiconductors and the multiple expansion activities required in the regions to support the needs of the workforces employed by these companies. It is believed that the Indian semiconductor supply could become a $100-200 billion ecosystem in the next decade.

This is a great step forward for India as a nation. The rapid decision making by the government and the drive to for India to become a major hub within for the global semiconductor supply chain will inevitably put pressure on other major hubs to improve on decision making and reducing barriers to the enabling of Semiconductor facilities. For now, lets keep an eye on the progress of these facilities and who else decides to set up in India.