India is welcoming its first memory ATMP facility set up by Micron, which may be the first foundry operated by a private entity in India in 30 years. However, experts believe India may be too optimistic about its semiconductor ambition.
During the Vibrant Gujarat Summit held in January, Ashwini Vaishnaw, the union minister of electronics and IT of India, reiterated India's plan to produce the first locally-made chip by the end of 2024 thanks to Micron's ATMP facility in construction in Gujarat. However, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said that its first ATMP facility in India will be operational only by early 2025.
Forbes India quoted Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI, saying that even he was surprised to hear that the first Indian-made chip would come out in 2024. He said that the 2024 timeline was a mistake, as it would take 6-9 months for the construction to finish, and it would require a bit more than a year for the facility to be operational.
Manocha told Forbes India that the lack of a semiconductor ecosystem in India would be the major barrier to India's semiconductor ambition. Besides, he said that India lacks the talents required for the semiconductor industry, adding that skill shortage is a global problem.
Despite an ambitiousness in developing the semiconductor ecosystem, DIGITIMES Research analyst Eric Chen cautioned that for the South Asian country to reach 28nm manufacturing capabilities, a ten-year timeline would be a realistic target as challenges remain for India, such as equipment, workforce, and the ecosystem.
On the other hand, Danish Faruqui, CEO of Fab Economics, told Business Today that he disagreed with the ten-year timeline envisioned by Chen, saying that based on his estimates, a timeline of 3.2 years for India's first production-ready 28nm fab is possible.
Micron's memory ATMP facility in Gujarat is beginning to attract suppliers in the ecosystem to India, as South Korea-based IC substrate provider Simmtech is planning to set up a plant near Micron's plant. Japan-based Disco and other chemical providers from East Asian economies are evaluating investments in Gujarat.
