Cabinet clears over ₹18,500 crore chip, hydro power, Metro rail plans

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved major investment proposals worth more than ₹18,500 crore for key infrastructure projects, including semiconductor manufacturing, Metro rail expansion, and hydro power generation. 

The decisions include ₹4,600 crore for semiconductor units, ₹5,800 crore for the Lucknow Metro, and ₹8,146 crore for a hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh. 

“Three very big investment decisions have been made today covering the foundational industry of semiconductors, clean energy growth through hydro power, and the crucial Lucknow Metro rail line,” Ashwini Vaishnaw, Railways, information & broadcasting, and electronics & information technology minister, told reporters. 

 

Four semiconductor projects under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) were approved across three states, adding to six previously cleared projects already under way. The new approvals go to SiCSem, Continental Device India (CDIL), 3D Glass Solutions Inc, and Advanced System in Package (ASIP) Technologies. SiCSem and 3D Glass are located in Odisha, CDIL in Punjab, and ASIP in Andhra Pradesh. 

With these four more approvals, total sanctioned projects under ISM now reach 10, with cumulative investments of about ₹1.60 trillion across six states, according to an official statement. 

SiCSem will set up a compound semiconductor fabrication plant in Bhubaneshwar with integrated assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP) facilities. The fab will produce 60,000 wafer starts per month, and the ATMP unit will have capacity for 96 million units a year. 

A second ATMP plant, also in Bhubaneshwar, will involve an investment of ₹1,943 crore. It will produce 70,000 glass panels and 13,000 three-dimensional heterogeneous integration modules annually, with ATMP capacity for 50 million units per year. 

“It will have one of the most advanced technologies where glass substrates will be manufactured,” Vaishnaw said, noting that global firms including Lockheed Martin, Intel, and Applied Materials have taken equity stakes in the unit. 

Two more ATMP facilities, one by CDIL in Mohali and another by ASIP in Andhra Pradesh, were also cleared. 

The Cabinet also approved an 11-kilometre extension of the Lucknow Metro’s first phase, adding 12 stations at a cost of ₹5,801 crore. The project, Phase 1B, will be executed by the Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation, a joint venture of the central and state governments, over the next five years. It will connect Old Lucknow commercial hubs such as Aminabad, Yahiyaganj, Pandeyganj, and Chowk; King George’s Medical University; tourist landmarks including Bara Imambara, Chota Imambara, Bhool Bhulaiya, Clock Tower and Rumi Darwaza; and popular food districts. 

For the energy sector, the Cabinet sanctioned ₹8,146 crore for the 700-megawatt Tato-II Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh. The plant is expected to generate 2,738 million units of electricity annually, improving supply in the state and creating jobs. 

The project will be developed by North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) in partnership with the Arunachal Pradesh government. The Centre will provide ₹458.79 crore for enabling infrastructure such as roads, bridges and transmission lines, besides ₹436.13 crore as equity support to the state. Arunachal Pradesh will receive 12 per cent free power from the project, along with infrastructure upgrades and socio-economic benefits.

 

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(With inputs from Sudheer Pal Singh, Aashish Aryan, Dhruvaksh Saha, and Puja Das)