India's Semiconductor Mission gets ₹4,600 cr boost as Modi govt approves 4 new projects

With six government-approved projects already in various stages of execution, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved four more semiconductor projects under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM). These four proposals are from SiCSem, Continental Device India Private Limited (CDIL), 3D Glass Solutions Inc., and Advanced System in Package (ASIP) Technologies. SiCSem and 3D Glass will be set up in Odisha. CDIL is located in Punjab, and ASIP will be set up in Andhra Pradesh.

The said projects include India's first commercial compound fab as well as a highly advanced glass-based substrate semiconductor packaging unit, which are expected to complement the growing chip design capabilities coming up in the country.

The cumulative investment to set up these semiconductor manufacturing facilities will be around ₹4,600 crore. They are expected to generate 2034 skilled jobs and many indirect jobs. With these approvals, the total approved projects under ISM have reached 10, and the total investments have hit ₹1.60 lakh crore across 6 states. A Ministry of Electronics & IT statement said these four new approved semiconductor projects would contribute to making Atmanirbhar Bharat, given the growing demand for semiconductors across sectors.

Let's understand these companies, what specific components they will manufacture, and their key applications.

1.) SicSem Private Ltd

SicSem Private Ltd is collaborating with Clas-SiC Wafer Fab Ltd., UK, to establish an integrated facility of silicon carbide (SiC) based compound semiconductors in Info Valley, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. This will be 1st commercial compound factory in the country. The project proposes to manufacture silicon carbide devices. The semiconductor fab will have an annual capacity of 60,000 wafers and a packaging capacity of 96 million units. The proposed products will have applications in missiles, defence equipment, electric vehicles (EVs), railway, fast chargers, data centre racks, consumer appliances, and solar power inverters.

2.) 3D Glass Solutions Inc.

3D Glass Solutions Inc. (3DGS) will be setting up a vertically integrated advanced packaging and embedded glass substrate unit in Info Valley, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. The unit will bring the world’s most advanced packaging technology to India, thereby improving efficiency. The facility will have a large variety of advanced technologies, including glass interposers with passives and silicon bridges, and 3D Heterogeneous Integration (3DHI) modules. Planned capacity of this unit will be around 69,600 glass panel substrates, 50 million assembled units, and 13,200 3DHI modules per annum. The proposed products will have significant applications in defence, high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, RF and automotive, photonics and co-packaged optics, etc.

3.) Advanced System in Package Technologies (ASIP)

Advanced System in Package Technologies (ASIP) will set up a semiconductor manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh, under a technology tie-up with APACT Co. Ltd, South Korea, with an annual capacity of 96 million units. The manufactured products will find applications in mobile phones, set-top boxes, automobile applications, and other electronic products.

4.) Continental Device Ltd (CDIL)

Continental Device Ltd (CDIL) will expand its discrete semiconductor manufacturing facility at Mohali, Punjab. The proposed facility will manufacture high-power discrete semiconductor devices such as MOSFETs, IGBTs, Schottky Bypass Diodes, and transistors, both in silicon and silicon carbide. The annual capacity of this brownfield expansion will be to the tune of 158.38 million units. The devices manufactured by these proposed units will have applications in automotive electronics, including EVs and their charging infrastructure, renewable energy systems, power conversion applications, industrial applications and communication infrastructure.