The minister of state for electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrashekhar has said in a statement that India will extend the timeline to submit applications towards its upcoming incentive-backed semiconductor design and manufacturing scheme. He informed that extension has been allowed in order to provide time to the global semiconductor manufacturers to submit their proposals. The chip manufacturing incentive scheme was introduced by the government in December 2021 and started accepting proposals from January 1.
Big Players Show Interest
Some officials have informed that the government has been in discussions with some of the top players in the industry such as Samsung, Intel, GlobalFoundries and the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in order for them to apply to the scheme and invest in India. The extension of the timeline for proposal submissions also come in the light of these ongoing discussions. Officials informed that the key players of the industry have been considerably interested in the $10 billion incentive scheme introduced by the government which has the purpose of creating an efficient semiconductor ecosystem in India including its design, manufacturing and packaging all done domestically. However, as of now, only a few proposals have been received for this incentive scheme introduced by the government which includes none from the major players. According to a report from ET Telecom, officials have informed that the government is perfectly aware that the companies need more time to submit their proposals as a commitment of this size needs a considerable amount of thinking. As far as semiconductor manufacturing is considered, an average manufacturing plant requires an investment of about $3 billion to $5 billion. The Indian government currently plans to institute two semiconductor factories and two display factories in the country. Previously the deadline for the submission of proposals for the silicon semiconductor manufacturing incentive scheme, the government had given the deadline of 45 days which is up to February 15. The government had also announced that it will cover 50% of the cost of establishing two semiconductors and two display fabs in the country. As of now, the companies who have submitted the proposals include the likes of Abu Dhabi base Next Orbit Ventures, Vedanta Group in partnership with Foxconn and more.
