'Our goal is to produce the chip in CY 2026': Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran

On the inauguration of two new semiconductor plants – one in Gujarat and one in Assam - Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran said the projects led by Tata Sons will have a lasting impact on the nation. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stones for three semiconductor plants — Tata Electronics Fab and Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT), and CG Power’s OSAT. All three units were inaugurated virtually.

The three projects had received Cabinet nod on February 29 this year and are their combined worth is over Rs 1.25 lakh crore. The proposed investment for Tata-PSMC chip foundry is Rs 91,000 crore, the Tata OSAT facility Rs 27,000 crore, and the CG Power-Renesas, Rs 7,600 crore.

Tata Electronics Private Limited (TEPL) is setting up a Rs 91,000 crore Semiconductor fabrication facility at the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) and a Rs 27,000 crore Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facility in Morigaon, Assam.

Speaking on the inauguration, Chandra said: "Today is a special day for the Tata Group -- with the foundation laying stone being laid for our proejcts in Dholera and Jagiroad 2,500 km apart. These semiconductor plants will have a lasting impact on the entire nation. The ecosystem from across the globe will mobilise to have India as their preferred semiconductor destination."  

He further added: "Semiconductor is fundamentally required for anything digital. So, it is very important for India to become a semiconductor nation. I am very glad that Tata Group has been able to establish the first semiconductor fab also the first indigenous assembly unit in Assam. Assam will see a lot of prosperity and a lot of jobs and will change the face of that part of the world with this specific investment... We are accelerating the timeline. Typically a fab takes 4 years, our goal is to produce the chip in the calendar year 2026 - hopefully the later part of the year... We have a very aggressive timeline... Assam will be done earlier, we may go commercial production in Assam even in late 2025 and early 2026."

Tata Electronics has partnered with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) to build India’s first AI-enabled state-of-the-art Fab. The new semiconductor Fab, which will have a manufacturing capacity of up to 50,000 wafers per month, will produce chips that will be used in automotive, computing and data storage, wireless communication and artificial intelligence industries. 

The third project is a joint venture of CG Power and Industrial Solutions and Japan’s Renesas Electronics Corporation and Stars Microelectronics (Thailand), wherein it will invest Rs 7,600 crore over a five-year period for setting up an OSAT facility. 

Earlier while inaugurating the semiconductor fabrication facilities, PM Modi said: "India is set to become a prominent semiconductor manufacturing hub. The three facilities will drive economic growth and foster innovation. Today, the youth are seeing how India is working all-round for progress, for self-reliance and for its presence in the global supply chain. These efforts will also increase their self-confidence and wherever a confident youth is, he changes the destiny of his country."

The government had earlier said the semiconductor facilities will boost the semiconductor ecosystem in the country in a big way and also generate thousands of jobs in the semiconductor industry apart from catalysing employment generation in related sectors like electronics and telecom.