Semicon India Program Approved

Semiconductor Policy and Ecosystem’

· Semiconductor Manufacturing Attracts interest from Global Companies as Good Number of Applications received under The Programme: Ashwini Vaishnaw

· Semicon India Program Aims to provide attractive incentive support to Companies / Consortia Engaged in Silicon Semiconductor Fabs, Display Fabs, Compound Semiconductors and Semiconductor Design

· Meeting of Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to Ministry of Electronics & IT held

Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Communications and Railways informed that the government had approved the Semicon India Program (Program for Development of Semiconductors and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem in India), with an outlay of INR 760 billion for the development of a sustainable semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in India on December 15, 2021. “Semiconductor manufacturing, which is crucial to meet the strategic needs of the country, has attracted interest from global companies as good number of applications have been received under the programme” , he further informed. Mr. Vaishnaw was addressing members of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) which was held on 4 April evening. The Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications Devusinh Chauhan were also present in the meeting. The MPs present in the meeting included Smt Preneet Kaur, Lok Sabha, Radha Mohan Singh, Lok Sabha and K.R. Suresh Reddy, Rajya Sabha. The subject of the meeting was ‘Semiconductor Policy and Ecosystem’.

Ashwini Vaishnaw apprised the participants that Several state governments like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are in talks with the companies to set up Semiconductor manufacturing plants/fab complexes.

A presentation was given by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to inform the Hon’ble MPs regarding potential of growth of Electronics Sector in general and Semiconductor sector in specific in India. Emerging market and large export potential of the Compound Semiconductors was also focused upon. MPs were informed about the measures being undertaken by the Ministry of Electronics and Information technology to promote the Electronics Manufacturing in India and to support the Semiconductor and Display Ecosystem and allied sectors in the country.

The Semicon India Program aims to provide attractive incentive support to companies / consortia that are engaged in Silicon Semiconductor Fabs, Display Fabs, Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors (including MEMS) Fabs, Semiconductor Packaging (ATMP / OSAT) and Semiconductor Design.

Following four schemes have been introduced under the aforesaid programme:

i. Scheme for setting up of Semiconductor Fabs in India provides fiscal support to eligible applicants for setting up of Semiconductor Fabs which is aimed at attracting large investments for setting up semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities in the country. Following fiscal support has been approved under the scheme:

· 28nm or Lower - Up to 50% of the Project Cost

· Above 28 nm to 45nm - Up to 40% of the Project Cost

· Above 45 nm to 65nm - Up to 30% of the Project Cost

ii. Scheme for setting up of Display Fabs in India provides fiscal support to eligible applicants for setting up of Display Fabs which is aimed at attracting large investments for setting up TFT LCD / AMOLED based display fabrication facilities in the country. The Scheme provides fiscal support of up to 50% of Project Cost subject to a ceiling of INR 12,000 crore per Fab.

iii. Scheme for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors Fab and Semiconductor Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) / OSAT facilities in India: The Scheme provides a fiscal support of 30% of the Capital Expenditure to the eligible applicants for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics (SiPh) / Sensors (including MEMS) Fab and Semiconductor ATMP / OSAT facilities in India.

iv. Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme offers financial incentives, design infrastructure support across various stages of development and deployment of semiconductor design for Integrated Circuits (ICs), Chipsets, System on Chips (SoCs), Systems & IP Cores and semiconductor linked design. The scheme provides “Product Design Linked Incentive” of up to 50% of the eligible expenditure subject to a ceiling of ₹15 Crore per application and “Deployment Linked Incentive” of 6% to 4% of net sales turnover over 5 years subject to a ceiling of ₹30 Crore per application.

In addition to the above schemes, Government has also approved modernisation of Semi-Conductor Laboratory, Mohali as a brownfield Fab.

India Semiconductor Mission: India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) has been setup as an Independent Business Division within Digital India Corporation having administrative and financial autonomy to formulate and drive India’s long term strategies for developing semiconductors and display manufacturing facilities and semiconductor design ecosystem. Envisioned to be led by global experts in the Semiconductor and Display industry, ISM will serve as the nodal agency for efficient, coherent and smooth implementation of the schemes.

Hon’ble Members of Parliament made several suggestions with regard to various initiatives and schemes in the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and Telecommunications sector. The members gave suggestions and highlighted issues related of electronic waste management, capacity building, role of Indian Companies in electronics manufacturing and India Semiconductor Mission. The matters related to Telecommunications sector, and launch of 5G services etc. were also discussed. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw along with the two Ministers of States Rajeev Chandrashekhar and Devusinh Chauhan addressed the queries of members and thanked them for their valuable suggestions.