Odisha Kicks Off Rs 4000-Cr Plus Investment In Two Semiconductor Plants

After steel, aluminium and mining leadership, Odisha is now focusing big time on niche semiconductor business. It now wants to contribute to the national semiconductor ecosystem. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet has approved the U.S. chip major Intel-backed 3D glass semiconductor manufacturing unit in Odisha with an investment of Rs 1,943 cr. The plant will be set up by Hetrogenous Integration Packaging Solutions Pvt Ltd with an annual production of 5 crore units. Apart from this a silicon carbide semiconductor plant will also be set up at Bhubaneswar with an investment of Rs 2,066 cr by SiCem Pvt Ltd in collaboration with Clas-SIC  Wafer Fab, UK to manufacture 9.6 million Silicon carbide chips per year which will be used in missiles, satellites, telecom towers, rockets, railway engines, solar power, fast chargers and others. Immediately, Odisha focus area will be chip assembly and training and workforce development meeting infrastructure needs. Odisha seems confident to take the leap first by chip assembly followed by chip manufacturing, backed by government incentives. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan feels Odisha will emerge as a semiconductor hub because of “PM’s purvodaya vision of Look East Policy.” He said chip manufacturing process is part of PM’s election promise to double Odisha’s income. Sources say, though actual investment will take time to materialise, however serious assessment has already begun where Odisha stands particularly with regard to the availability of engineering talents from IITs, National Institute of Science Education & Research which compliments semiconductor start-ups. IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav feels with these plants Odisha will be able to attract the best of brains to Odisha.