'This is just beginning': Tata Group to create 50,000 jobs with semicon push, says N Chandrasekaran

Calling it a special day for India and the Tata Group, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran gave a glimpse of the semiconductor facility it will run jointly with Taiwan-based Powerchip (PSMC) at an estimated cost of Rs 91,000 crore in Gujarat’s Dholera.

"These semicon plants will be very important for the nation. PSMC has given us access to a wide portfolio of technology. Semicon is the foundational industry for everything digital. We will create more than 50,000 jobs and this is just the beginning," Chandrasekaran said at Techade, which saw PM Modi laying foundation stone of three semiconductor projects worth about Rs 1.25 lakh crore via video-conferencing.

"Chip shortages during pandemic made us realise our dependency on international supply chain. Domestic semicon industry is integral to indigenous industry. Semicon chips have defining role to play in every industry- auto, AI, defence, green tech, health and every other industry," Chandra said.

The Dholera plant will have a capacity to produce 300 crore chips every year, catering to industries like high performance computing, electric vehicles, defence and consumer electronics, among other things.

The colossal unit boasts of a manufacturing capacity of up to 50,000 wafers per month.

Frank Huang, chairman of PSMC, said in an interview with the Economic Times that the Dholera facility will begin operations with 28 nanometer chips, with plans for future advancements to 22 nm. Beyond producing high-performance compute chips, the facility is slated to manufacture power management chips catering to diverse sectors such as electric vehicles (EV), telecom, defense, automotive, consumer electronics, displays, and power electronics.