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The government today announced the setting up of an empowered committee for identifying technology and investors for setting up two semiconductor wafer fabrication ( Fab) facilities in the country . The empowered committee has adviser to prime minister on public information, infrastructure and innovation , chairman of National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council ( NMCC ) , secretary to the department of expenditure and member ( industry ) of the Planning Commission as members , while M J Zarabi , former CMD of Semiconductor Complex Ltd ( SCL ) is the technical expert and secretary, DIT its member convener. The empowered committee may co-opt any other experts . The rough order of magnitude ( ROM ) of investment for the two wafer fabs - Fab -1 and Fab -2 - is estimated to be around Rs25 , 000 crore ( $ 5 billion ) . The exact level of government support for the will be finalised after negotiations . The semiconductor wafer fabs will have a catalytic impact on development of downstream and upstream products, including ancillaries. It would have sizable impact on the development of IT /ITeS sector, particularly in very large scale integration ( VLSI ) design software, solutions and services . It will also boost innovation and R &D, especially in the area of semiconductors and related areas . It will help generate employment of the order of about 30 million ( direct and indirect ) by 2020 across various levels of competencies. The empowered committee will identify technology and potential investors for establishment of semiconductor wafer fabs , and thereafter ascertain their interest in setting up of semiconductor fab facilities in the country . The committee will assess and recommend the nature and quantum of government support such as equity / grant / subsidy in physical/ financial terms that may be required. The empowered committee will submit its recommendations to the government by 31 July 2011 . The empowered committee on Fab has been set up following recommendations by a previous committee that suggested the setting up of semiconductor wafer fab facility in the country . The committee had recommended preferential access to India -made electronic goods for all government procurements and procurement by government licensees, besides setting up of an ` Electronic Development Fund' , as also a ` National Electronics Mission ' and support to manufacture of specific high priority electronic product lines in India by providing capital grant and creation of electronic manufacturing clusters. The recommendations of the committee have been examined in detail in a series of inter-ministerial meetings and appropriate proposals are being evolved for approval of the competent authority on each of these recommendations . Electronics hardware sector is capital intensive and is facing several disabilities and barriers Therefore , the proposal will have significant impact in resolving these issues and help Indian electronics hardware industry to develop localised content / value addition.