NEW DELHI: The government may develop a semiconductor ecosystem in South India after establishing a hub in Gujarat, said Raghu Panicker, CEO of Kaynes Semicon, a subsidiary of Karnataka-based electronic manufacturer Kaynes Technology. Panicker highlighted that both the Karnataka government and the central government are actively working on developing another semiconductor hub in Karnataka.
“I think so (the government is developing a semiconductor unit in South India), because I see the Karnataka government is very active in this. And so is the central government. I’m not exactly privy to give more details, but they are doing it,” said Panicker.
The government recently approved Kaynes Technology’s application for an OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) facility unit in Sanand, Gujarat. The plant, worth R3,300 crore, is expected to be fully operational in the next 18 to 24 months.
This is the fifth application accepted by India’s Semiconductor Mission, launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in December 2021, with an outlay of R76,000 crore to make India a semiconductor hub like Taiwan.
“The construction work has already started in Sanand, Gujarat, and the first production or first phase of production will start with a 100 million chip capacity in 10 to 12 months. After two and a half years, when the plant is fully operational, it will produce 1 billion chips,” said Panicker.
Initially, Kaynes planned to set up its facility in Telangana but later changed its location to Sanand, Gujarat, where other companies like Micron Technology are also establishing their presence. The reason for shifting its semiconductor manufacturing unit to Gujarat was the development of the entire ecosystem in the region, said Panicker.
Kaynes Technology has chosen its technology partners for its semiconductor unit, including Globetronics from Malaysia, Aptos Technologies from Taiwan, AOI in Japan, and California-based Mixx Technologies.
The chips produced in this unit will cater to a wide variety of applications which include segments such as industrial, automotive, electric vehicles, consumer electronics, telecom and mobile phones, among others. When asked about the government’s focus for the next phase of the semiconductor incentive scheme, Panicker suggested that it should include incentives for equipment manufacturing.