Tata, Cyient and Applied Materials win ₹4,500 crore mandate to modernise India’s lone chip fab

On Thursday, Tata Semiconductor Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd, Cyient Semiconductors Pvt. Ltd and Applied Materials’ Singapore branch were declared winners of three separate parts of the modernization project. This effort will be led by the Ministry of Electronics and IT and will be funded through the first tranche of the India Semiconductor Mission. Mint He examined a sample of the approved tender.

Tata Semiconductor has won the first bid package, which includes the development of SCL Mohali’s outdated 8-inch complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) wafer fab. The size of the semiconductor wafer determines how efficiently a factory can produce chips. Of course, modern factories now use 12-inch wafers in more complex chip “nodes” to maximize production efficiency.

Cyient Semiconductors won the second bid package, which included the supply of patented technologies for making radio frequency integrated circuits, as well as chips supporting imaging and power management devices.

Modernization of SCL Mohali’s production equipment, including software for new machines, was entrusted to Applied Materials.

The project now awaits official approval from the Union cabinet before starting work. Overall, SCL Mohali’s modernization efforts are expected to begin “within a few weeks”, said a senior official with direct knowledge of the matter. Mint.

SCL currently only produces 180 nanometer (nm) chips; these are quite old and are used primarily in certain space, defense and energy applications. Post-modernization, the government-backed factory could move towards producing more modern industrial chips in the 28-65nm range. Mint It was reported on November 28. A smaller chip size typically means greater complexity and greater suitability for contemporary industrial use.

Last week, Union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reaffirmed that the modernization of SCL Mohali will not result in privatisation. Founded in 1976 and operating since 1984, SCL remains India’s only semiconductor manufacturing facility.

Meanwhile, Tata Electronics, the holding company of Tata Semiconductor Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd, which won the first of three tenders, is building India’s first dedicated chip factory in Dholera, Gujarat.

Vaishnaw added that SCL Mohali, once upgraded, will serve as a major source of manufacturing for startups in India. It has also proposed a consortium comprising the Advanced Computing Development Center (C-DAC), Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and SCL to support indigenous chip design and manufacturing.

Mint It had reported on July 1 that Tata Semiconductor was among the final bidders for SCL’s modernization project.

Industry stakeholders said the move could be significant for India’s sovereignty ambitions.

“The modernization efforts will ensure that SCL’s production lines can support industrial chip demand in critical sectors such as power and energy. These are the sectors where substitution of foreign chip imports is most critical and also provide India with geopolitical independence from being heavily dependent on a particular country,” said Ashok Chandak, president of the Indian Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA).

Chandak added that after cabinet approval, the facility should be operational in its modern form within the next two years.