Centre to approve several chip packaging, fab plant proposals soon: Minister

Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, on Thursday said that the government will approve multiple semiconductor packaging and fabrication plant proposals in the coming weeks.

"@GoI_MeitY has reopened the window for fresh fab applications for leading and mature nodes. This is being done since the January 2022 window was closed before the policy was improved to encourage mature nodes with equal incentives," the Minister said in a tweet.

Also Read | GST collection rises 12% to Rs 1.57 lakh crore in May

The window to re-apply for government incentives under the modified semiconductor scheme opened on June 1. The first window for 28-nanometer fabrication plants was kept open for 45 days in January 2022.

The Minister said that current and new players may apply afresh in various nodes.

The government has already approved many semiconductor design companies and received packaging and mature node fab proposals, he said.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology recently launched a Rs 76,000 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for semiconductors and display manufacturing units.

The government aims to create 100 semiconductor design startups in the near future and will have a talent pool of 85,000 highly-skilled professionals in the semiconductor space, said the Minister.