Minister Shares Update On Second Phase Of Semiconductor Policy Semicon 2.0

The government has started working on the second phase of the semiconductor policy, Semicon 2.0, which is expected to be in place in 3-4 months, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.

Speaking at Semicon India 2024, the minister said 3-4 states have attracted semiconductor investments, and one unit will soon come up in Uttar Pradesh.

“We are at a stage when the first stage of semicon project is practically completed. Now we are formulating Semicon 2.0 which will be a much expanded form of Semicon 1.0. It may take 3-4 months to put it in place,” Mr Vaishnaw said.

The minister said five projects entailing investments worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore have been approved of which construction is underway for two of the plants.

“We will now push for (semiconductor) ecosystem partners and equipment manufacturing like the way we did for fab and ATMP. Along with this there will be focus on bringing chemicals and gases and there will be emphasis on specialised materials,” Mr Vaishnaw said.

He said industry players want not just semiconductor fab but the entire ecosystem to come to India.

“There are around 250 specialised chemicals and gases that are used in it (semiconductor production). They are unique and their handling is very tough. There are materials which are far purer than industrial grade products,” Mr Vaishnaw said.

The minister said there are several new proposals in the pipeline and a plan for upgrading Mohali Semiconductor Lab is also ready.

“We will take these proposals soon to the cabinet for approval very soon,” he said.

The minister said 3-4 states, including Uttar Pradesh, will soon get semiconductor plants.

Maharashtra recently approved a chip manufacturing project to be set up by a joint venture between the Adani Group and Israel-based company Tower Semiconductor with investment of around Rs 83,000 crore. The Centre is yet to approve the Adani-Tower Semiconductor project for subsidy under the Indian Semiconductor Mission.