Monday, February 10, 2014: After having failed to invite the two consortiums to set up semiconductor foundries in India, the state governments of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Kerala, West Bengal and Karnataka are bringing forth new incentives and schemes. The same are directed towards electronics and semiconductor companies to invest in their regions.
The consortiums, one including IBM, and the other, STMicroelectronics will build their foundries in Noida and Gujarat, after the central government gave approval for their plans of in-principle establishments in September, last year. The state governments have begun the required deed-on land acquisition and allocated land for electronics manufacturing clusters (EMCs) with tax exemptions, simplified clearance procedures, incubation centres and subsidies in investments. “Policies are in place and most of the states are going after developing world class manufacturing clusters” Sanjeev Keskar, chairman, Electronics and Semiconductor Association, India was quoted by Economic Times.
Meanwhile, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY) has received Rs 650,000 million as investment propositions regarding the development of manufacturing and design of semiconductor chip which include the two semiconductor foundries.
The Government of India approved setting up of two consortiums for silicon wafer fabrication units in the country. In-principle approval was issued to Jaiprakash Associates, IBM and Tower Jazz of Israel (Noida), and ST Microelectronics, Hindustan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (HSMC) and Silterra of Malaysia (Gujarat). These units are likely to produce 40,000 wafers per month. The government has offered incentives and exemptions on total cost covering 40 per cent of fabrication setup. The overall estimation of investment is Rs 255,500 million.
