Govt clears first phase of semicon mission; two Gujarat units approved

THe unification storage locker on tues cleared the endure deuce semiconductor units under the first phase of the government’s semiconductor mission, with an investment of ₹3,936 crore. The projects will be funded under the ₹76,000 crore outlay earmarked for the India Semiconductor Mission 1.0, introduced in 2022.Both facilities, announced by IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during the cabinet briefing, will be set up in Gujarat.With these approvals, the government has completed the initial slate of projects under ISM 1.0, taking the total to 12 units and cumulative investments of ₹1.65 lakh crore, Vaishnaw said. The government is now preparing to roll out the next phase, ISM 2.0, which is expected to have an outlay of over ₹1 lakh crore, HT reported earlier.The government is positioning the larger of the two facilities - Dholera-based Crystal Matrix project - within a broader shift in display technologies from LCD to next-generation MicroLED. For decades, LCD manufacturing was dominated by Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, before China scaled up investments and took global leadership, said Vaishnaw. With LCD now considered a mature technology, the focus has moved to MicroLED, where India is seeking to build an early presence.The ₹3,068 crore Crystal Matrix facility will manufacture gallium nitride (GaN) wafers used in Mini and MicroLED displays, along with advanced packaging (ATMP). These components are used in applications such as large video walls, AR/VR systems, studio production, and specialised defence and medical displays. The project is part of India’s attempt to enter a segment that is still evolving globally, with players like Sony and Samsung leading the way.An IT ministry official said the MicroLED segment could grow at around 50% CAGR, but noted that domestic demand remains limited at present due to the high costs. They added that, similar to solar power, where prices fell sharply from about ₹10 to ₹2 per unit, MicroLED costs are expected to decline as production scales up.The 60-acre plant is expected to produce 72,000 square metres of display panels annually, along with 24,000 sets of RGB GaN wafers, and generate about 1,600 direct jobs. The ATMP unit is likely to be operational within 18 months, while the compound semiconductor fabrication facility is expected to be completed in around three years.The second project, approved for Suchi Semicon Pvt. Ltd. At Surat, with an investment of ₹868 crore, involves setting up an OSAT (outsourced semiconductor assembly and test) facility, which will manufacture semiconductor packaging components such as lead frames and wire-bond packages. These components are widely used in everyday electronics and industrial applications, including air conditioners, televisions and mobile phones.The Surat facility will have an annual production capacity of 673 million units of small outline integrated circuits (SOIC) and 360 million units of transistor outline (TO-263) packages. It is expected to create direct employment for around 630 people. The production in this unit is expected to begin within eight to 10 months.The ISM has so far attracted total investments of ₹1.65 lakh crore. Two units - Micron and Kaynes - have begun commercial production earlier this year, and their entire production capacity has already been booked, Vaishnaw said.“Globally, people questioned whether India will be able to produce semiconductors or not. That debate has now been settled. Our learning curve has been achieved,” he added.