Work on Micron semiconductor factory to start in 4-6 weeks: IT Minister Vaishnaw

IT Minister Vaishnaw said that land had already been allocated for the factory in Gujarat.

The groundbreaking ceremony on Micron Technology's semiconductor factory will take place in 4-6 weeks, Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister of Communications, Railways, Electronics and Information Technology said on July 3.

Speaking at the launch of the Bharat 6G Alliance in the capital, Vaishnaw said that land had already been allocated for the factory in Gujarat.

"A lot of progress has been made on that project. The site allocation has been done by the government of Gujarat... And now, the company is preparing for setting up the factory," Vaishnaw told reporters.

The groundbreaking ceremony should happen in the coming 4-6 weeks," he further said, adding that the "first Make in India chip" should be manufactured out of this factory by December 2024.

On June 28, US chip-maker Micron signed an MoU with the Indian government to build a semiconductor plant. While Micron has said it will invest up to $825 million in the facility, the total investment - including that of the Indian government - will be $2.75 billion. The factory will be constructed in Sanand, Gujarat.

The factory will be a first for India, which has been looking to get into the global semiconductor supply chain in recent years. The deal with Micron was one of the key issues during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent trip to the US. On his trip to the US, Modi met Micron's Chief Executive Officer, Sanjay Mehrotra, on June 21 in Washington, DC, inviting him to "boost semiconductor manufacturing in India".

"He noted that India can provide competitive advantages in various parts of the semiconductor supply chain," a statement by the Indian government said.

Vaishnaw also said on July 3 that five companies had been given approvals under the Design-Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme of the government.

"All the five companies have given very good proposals to design chips, including one for satellite communication and one for beam formation. So we have got proposals to design some very complex chips," the minister said.

Commenting on digital payments, the minister said that a Joint Working Group had been created for taking digital payments system to Japan, with the Asian giant keen on having a UPI-like system.

"Very good progress has been made. This is something that will take at least a few months to create a common understanding paper and then the execution will start," Vaishnaw said.

Vaishnaw also said the government is ready with The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill and was hopeful of introducing it in the Monsoon Session of Parliament. He said "tens of thousands" of suggestions had been received and they had all been meticulously examined.

"...we have reached out to all possible stakeholders, whether they are in the media world, activist world, industry and academic stakeholders… Every possible stakeholder we have consulted... So we have taken all suggestions into account," the minister said.