The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will wait until the committed projects commences and then it will look for new funds for the second subsidy scheme.
The much-anticipated second semiconductor subsidy scheme is unlikely to be unleashed this year by the government of India, according to media reports. Sources in the ministry told the media that around 78 percent of the Rs 76,000 crore scheme has already been utilized for four large ventures in the country. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will wait until the committed projects commences and then it will look for new funds for the second subsidy scheme.
In an exclusive interview with Moneycontrol, union IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has stated that the upcoming subsidy scheme will focus exclusively on the semiconductor design ecosystem and would support the production of 10 chipsets domestically. A source familiar with the development has told the media, “Before we go back to the finance ministry (asking for additional funds for a fresh package), we would like to actually disburse... Micron amounts we are disbursing. Now, the Tatas and others have to get the construction process started for disbursals. When MeitY starts disbursing the money, then it can ask for more.”
The first semiconductor project, which will avail the capex linked subsidy is Micron, which has announced a $2.75 billion semiconductor ATMP unit in Sanand region of Gujarat. The company will invest $825 million for the project, while the rest of the cost will be provided jointly by the state and the central government. A couple of months back, three more chip projects were announced in the country.
Tata Electronics and Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC) in Gujarat’s Dholera at an investment of Rs 91,000 crore; a chip assembly and testing unit by Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt Ltd in Assam at an investment of Rs 27,000 crore; and a chip packaging plant by CG Power and Japan’s Renesas in Sanand at a cost of Rs 7,600 crore. The government has notified that around Rs 59,000 crore has been spent out of Rs76,000 Crore subsidy scheme.
