By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JAN 29, 2015: THE Union Cabinet has approved to reconstitute the Empowered Committee to setup the Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication (FAB) projects, with the following composition:

a) Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog ….. Chairman

b) Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, Former Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation

c) Secretary, Department of Expenditure

d) Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion

e) Dr. M.J. Zarabi, Former CMD, Semiconductor Complex Ltd. (SCL) - Technical Expert

f) Prof. Narendra Krishna Karmarkar, Distinguished Visiting Professor, IIT-Bombay

g) Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology - Member Convener

h) Empowered Committee may co-opt any other experts

Background

The Government had in 2011 constituted an Empowered Committee to identify technology and investors and to recommend incentives to be provided to set up two FAB facilities in the country. This Committee submitted its recommendations to the Government. Based on the recommendations of the Empowered Committee, the Union Cabinet accorded approval for establishing two FAB manufacturing facilities by two consortia, one led by M/s Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. along with M/s IBM (USA) and M/s Tower Jazz (Israel) and the other led by M/s. HSMC Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. along with M/s ST Microelectronics (France/Italy) and M/s Silterra (Malaysia); and authorized the Empowered Committee to take all decisions to implement the FAB projects in furtherance of the decision of the Cabinet Letters of Intent have been issued to the two consortia on 19.03.2014 for setting up FAB facilities in India.

The setting up of Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication units is a critical pillar required to promote Electronics System Design and Manufacturing in India which will stimulate the flow of capital and technology, create employment opportunities, help higher value addition in the electronic products manufactured in India, reduce dependence on imports, and lead to innovation.