- Many multibillion-dollar proposals have been received under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM)
- They will be assessed on the basis of their financial viability & technical expertise, among other aspects
As per the latest reports coming from various sources, the Central Government has formed three subcommittees to assess the proposals received as part of its India Semiconductor Mission (ISM). It has been learnt that the first applications will be accepted under this progressive mission soon.
The first sub-committee comprises of members from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI). It will thrash out the ideas and hone the proposals received. The second committee members have been drawn from the ranks of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). The third sub-committee, which includes three domain experts, has been formed from the 21-member expert group of the ISM. The committees are evaluating the proposals on a variety of aspects like financial viability, technical expertise and financing capabilities of the partners.
Proposals & Assessments
It is noteworthy that under ISM’s $10 bn package, five consortiums like Vedanta-Foxconn, Next Orbit Ventures-Tower Semiconductor (now owned by Intel) and Rajesh Exports have applied for incentives. Official sanction is needed to establish semiconductor fabrication units.
It has been learnt that the government is carefully rating and assessing the proposals, keeping all fronts in mind. It is so because these are multi-billion dollar projects and will mean big incentives from the Centre as well as states, said the sources. An official familiar with the matter said: “Ultimately, we have to ensure that the applicants have made all the arrangements. The Cabinet has to be convinced about its viability but before that, it has to be convinced about all aspects.”
Indian Government’s ambitious plan for semiconductor production comes at a time when global supply chain constraints are at their peak. Those are, in return, giving rise to increasing demand for new fab units. Having such units on a large scale on Indian soil will also help in dousing India’s strategic and national security concerns.
ISM
In April this year, the government set up a 21-member expert group for the ISM, with the MeitY secretary as a convener, IT minister Vaishnaw as the chair, and Rajeev Chandrasekhar as vice-chairperson. Vinod Dham, the creator of the Intel Pentium and an investor in startups, Ajit Manocha, the head of the US industry group SEMI, and Neelkanth Mishra from Credit Suisse are part of the industry experts group on the panel. It must be noted that the third subcommittee’s recommendations and those of the 21-member expert group will subsequently be presented to the government for approval by the cabinet.
