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US-based Micron Technology Inc Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government to set up a Rs 22,500-crore semiconductor unit at Sanand near Ahmedabad.
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw termed the project a “huge step” towards India becoming self-reliant in manufacturing memory-chips.
The Assembly, Test, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) facility, to be set up on 93 acres in Sanand GIDC -II industrial estate, looks to create 5,000 direct jobs and is expected to be commissioned within 18 months. The facility will focus on transforming wafers into Ball Grid Array (BGA)-integrated circuit packages, memory modules and solid-state drives.
The MoU was signed at a formal ceremony organised at the chief minister’s office in the presence of Vaishnaw, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Micron Technology senior vice-president Gursharan Singh.
This is the second MoU being signed by the Gujarat government with a semiconductor manufacturer. In September 2022, the state government had inked a similar MoU with the Foxconn-Vedanta joint venture for setting up a Rs 1.54-lakh crore unit in Gujarat. Though the company had selected Dholera SIR for the unit, the project is yet to take off as a formal approval is pending from the Central government.
Pointing out that multiple attempts were made in the past to attract semiconductor manufacturers to India, Union minister Vaishnaw said, “Today is a historic day for which the country has waited for 40 years. It was in 1980, the first attempt was made to bring a semiconductor unit to India. Similar attempts were made in 1990 and in 2005-06. Finally it was Prime Minister Modi who created history.”
Stressing on the importance of the semiconductor industry in India, Vaishnaw said semiconductors were not as important as it was 30 years ago. “Today, we import semiconductors worth Rs 3 lakh crore. Of these, an estimated Rs 1 lakh crore worth of memory cards are imported. Micron makes these memory cards and is one of the biggest manufacturers of these cards. This is India’s big step towards becoming Aatma Nirbhar in manufacturing memory chips,” he added.
Vaishaw said talent, green energy and low-cost manufacturing ability will help India become a semiconductor manufacturing hub. During the event, land allotment letter and a project approval letter were also provided to Micron Technology.
Science and Technology Department Secretary Vijay Nehra said the government engaged with officials of Micron Technology for over a year. “We have conducted over 40 meetings and spent 50-60 hours over the phone,” he added.
Gursharan Singh said, “The integrated circuit assembly and test manufacturing facility at Sanand will add India on the global map as the manufacturer of semiconductors and will make India the power house of global semiconductor manufacturing.” He also thanked the revenue department of the state government for concluding the Advance Pricing Agreement in a record five months, while it takes around seven years in other countries.
The official said the project in Gujarat will also attract company’s vendors and suppliers to the state. “Under Project Pioneer, Micron will truly pioneer young engineers in semiconductor manufacturing skills. The project will provide learning opportunities through the network of facilities in Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, China and the US. With this project, we also plan to collaborate with the academia of the country to provide new avenues for young professionals. We are also committed to bring our vendors and partners to help develop a sustainable ecosystem in India,” Singh added.
During the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US, Micron Technology, along with other semiconductor manufacturers such as Applied Materials and Lam Research had also shown their interest in investing in India.
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