New Delhi, May 14 (IANS) The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the establishment of a semiconductor unit in Uttar Pradesh under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) that would attract investment of Rs 3,700 crore.

The unit is a joint venture of HCL and Foxconn and together, they will set up the plant near Jewar airport in the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) area.

The plant is designed for 20,000 wafers per month. The design output capacity is 36 million units per month. It will manufacture display driver chips for mobile phones, laptops, automobiles, PCs, and other devices that have display.

According to a Cabinet note, with the demand for semiconductor increasing with the rapid growth of laptop, mobile phone, server, medical device, power electronics, defence equipment, and consumer electronics manufacturing in Bharat, this new unit will further add to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

HCL has a long history of developing and manufacturing hardware while Foxconn is a global major in electronics manufacturing.

Five semiconductor units are in advanced stages of construction. With this sixth unit, “Bharat moves forward in its journey to develop the strategically vital semiconductor industry,” said the cabinet.

“Semiconductor industry is now shaping up across the country. World-class design facilities have come up in many states across the country. State governments are vigorously pursuing the design firms,” it added in its note.

Students and entrepreneurs in 270 academic institutions and 70 startups are working on world-class latest design technologies for developing new products. Around 20 products developed by the students of these academic students have been taped out by SCL Mohali.

As the country moves forward in semiconductor journey, the ecosystem partners have also established their facilities in India.

Applied Materials and Lam Research are two of the largest equipment manufacturers. Both have a presence in India now. Merck, Linde, Air Liquide, Inox, and many other gas and chemical suppliers are gearing up for growth of the semiconductor industry in the country.

--IANS

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