India has received investment pledges of as much as $12 billion from global and local investors within months of launching its new semiconductor policy, marking an acceleration in its efforts to become a chip-making nation.
The commitments come from companies including those producing chip equipment, materials and chemicals manufacturers, Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at the country's top chip industry event in New Delhi Thursday.
The interest comes after India in July announced a fresh $13.4 billion semiconductor fund, stepping up efforts to build a domestic chip industry. It seeks to boost a previous $10 billion subsidy program that's helped the likes of the Tata Group and Micron Technology Inc. to set up fabrication and assembly plants in the South Asian country.
Vaishnaw didn't disclose company names but said the investments will be made over the next two to three years.
Some of the companies approved under the previous chip policy, such as Micron and Murugappa Group's chip unit, are already in commercial production. "So far whatever production is there is already booked and capacity, which is getting created, is already booked," Vaishnaw said.
Earlier Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a charm offensive for global investors at the chip conference, touting the country's vast pool of engineering graduates and semiconductor-friendly policies.
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Chip-equipment maker Applied Materials Inc. said at the event it will invest $5 billion in India over the next decade, while competitor Lam Research Corp. said it plans to spend about $1 billion in a local manufacturing facility. Micron will test and assemble hundreds of millions of chips in India in 2027 after starting output from its local plant this year, Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Mehrotra said.
Tata Group's electronic and chip unit signed five accords across the semiconductor supply chain during the event. These include a partnership with Nexperia BV that spans semiconductor wafer manufacturing, assembly and test for its fabrication plant in western Gujarat state as well as its assembly facility in Assam.
Tata Electronics also announced a collaboration with Fujifilm Corp. for local production of critical raw materials and developing a supply chain around the Dholera unit in Gujarat.
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"The question of whether we can make chips in India has changed to how fast and how deep can we build the semiconductor ecosystem in India. The answer is: deeper than anyone would have thought and sooner than anyone could have predicted," Tata Electronics' Chief Executive Officer Randhir Thakur said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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