Government announces $2 billion investment in Mohali's Semiconductor Laboratory

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The government will invest $2 billion in the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali for research and prototyping, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said at a semiconductor design roadshow in IIT-Delhi on May 12.

According to a previous plan, the government was going to invest around $1.3 billion in the facility, but now that amount has been raised by about 50 percent.

The minister also said that the government will establish the India Semiconductor Research Institute which will serve as a centre of excellence, which will work with institutes like IIT Delhi, IIT Chennai and others in a hub-and-spoke model.

At the roadshow in one of the country's top technology institutions, the minister exhorted students to work and start-up in deeptech areas such as semiconductors, quantum technology, and artificial intelligence.

"You are the most fortunate generation of students in the history of independent India," he said.

The minister said that the government has designed a semiconductor education curriculum for higher education institutions, in consultation with the industry, which will enable India to become a global pool of talent in semiconductor design.

Chandrasekhar told the gathering that around 27 startups have come up in the semiconductor arena in the country in recent times. It is the government's focus to take this number rapidly up to 100.

While the government has allocated around Rs 1,100-1,200 crore to support semiconductor design startups in the country, it has also come up with a Rs 76,000 crore production-linked incentive scheme to attract chip manufacturing companies to set up fabs in the country.