Semiconductors: Dholera plant to make microchips by December 2026, says Vaishnaw
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday laid the foundation of three microchip plants—two units by Tata Electronics and the third by CG Power, entailing a total investment of Rs 1.26 trillion—Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the first set of semiconductors will start rolling out from the Tatas’ plant a Dholera in Gujarat in December 2026.
Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of Tata Group and CG Power chip plants, Vaishnav said India will be among the top five chip ecosystems in the world by 2029.
“The first chip from the Dholera plant will be out in December 2026 and the chip from the Micron plant by December 2024,” the minister said.
He said the Dholera plant will make chips in 28, 50, and 55-nanometer nodes.
The three plants include India’s first high-tech chip manufacturing plant of Tata Electronics which the company is setting up in partnership with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp at Dholera’s Special Industrial Region (SIR).
The plant will have the capacity to produce 50,000 wafers per month and involve an investment of Rs 91,000 crore. The Centre will contribute 50 percent of the capex on a pari passu basis.
These chips driven by advanced technology will cater to multiple sectors — power management chips for electric vehicles (EV), telecom, defense, automotive, consumer electronics, display, and power electronics.
Semiconductor is a ‘foundational’ industry touching almost every aspect of life, powering everything from fridges to ACs and cars, aircraft to trains.
The PM also laid the foundation of another new assembly and test facility of Tata Electronics in Jagiroad, Assam, being built with an investment of Rs 27,000 crore. It is expected to generate over 27,000 direct and indirect jobs in the region.
This will be India’s first semiconductor unit in the Northeast.
Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test (TSAT) will develop indigenous advanced semiconductor packaging technologies, including flip chip and Integrated System In-Package (ISIP) technologies, with a capacity of 48 million chips per day.
The target segments for these would be automotive, electric vehicles, consumer electronics, telecom, and mobile phones, among others.
The PM also laid the foundation of the semiconductor unit of CG Power, which it is setting up in partnership with Renesas Electronics Corp and Stars Microelectronics of Thailand at Sanand in Gujarat at an investment of Rs 7,600 crore.
Renesas is a leading semiconductor company focused on specialized chips. It operates 12 semiconductor facilities and is an important player in microcontrollers, analog, power, and system-on-chip products.
The plant will have a capacity for 15 million chips per day and manufacture chips for consumer, industrial, automotive, and power applications.
Vaishnaw said efforts were being made to set up a semiconductor industry in India since 1962 but it has become successful now.
He said the foundation of three large semiconductor projects is a record in the world.
“The ground-breaking ceremony took place within 15 days of the project’s approval by the Centre. India will be among the top five semiconductor ecosystems by 2029,” Vaishnaw said.
Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said the Tata Electronics’ semiconductor projects will initially create 50,000 direct and indirect jobs. The production at the Assam plant is expected to start before the fabrication unit’s production in Dholera.
