Govt has received semiconductor proposals worth $26 billion: Chandrasekhar

The Centre has received semiconductor proposals worth $26 billion to date, including a proposal from Israel's Tower Semiconductor worth around $11 billion, Minister of State for Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Thursday.

"The total amount of cumulative investments that the government has received in the past 2-2.5 years is around $26 billion, excluding the ones that were rejected," he said.

"This is really significant by any standard of global semiconductor ecosystem expansion, and this is excluding the $1.5 billion that has to be approved for the Semiconductor Lab, Mohali, and the launch of the Bharat Semiconductor Research Centre," he added.

The government will soon announce the Bharat Semiconductor Research Centre, according to the Minister.

On the Tower Semiconductors proposal, Chandrasekhar said, "The one proposal that didn't go to the cabinet today was Tower Semiconductors; the government is examining it and it will soon be taken up for approval."

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved three semiconductor plant proposals, two in Gujarat and one in Assam, for an estimated cost of Rs 1.26 lakh crore.

Tata Electronics will establish India's first semiconductor fabrication facility in Dholera, Gujarat, in collaboration with Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC).

Additionally, Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt Ltd will construct a Rs 27,000 crore semiconductor facility in Morigaon, Assam.

The third facility will be established by CG Power, owned by the Murugappa Group and headquartered in Mumbai. It will be located in Sanand, Gujarat, and will be set up in collaboration with Renesas Electronics Corp of Japan and Stars Microelectronics of Thailand.