The government has received nine bids, from companies including the Tata Group, Tower Semiconductor and Texas Instruments, for the overhaul of its Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali, said people with knowledge of the development.
Israel’s Tower Semiconductor has a close association with SCL as it had helped the Indian government plan the 180 nanometres chip plant. Tower Semiconductor is also very keen to enter the commercial chip manufacturing segment in India and has been in active discussions with the government while Texas Instruments has significant chip research and development operations in the country.
“Once the government decides on the exact nodes that the facility will manufacture, financial bids will be invited from these companies,” said another senior government official. The firm, which will be given the final mandate, may have to partner with a technology firm that has licensing grade semiconductor technology, the official added.
The government therefore earmarked $1 billion for modernisation of the facility and invited expressions of interest from the industry in September last year. The $1 billion fund is part of the government’s $10 billion semiconductor incentive package to set up a semiconductor chip fabrication ecosystem in the country.
“We are hopeful of getting more bids, especially from domestic companies since a lot of the work is of crucial national importance. We are evaluating the current bids including from the Tata Group. A couple of companies working in the defence space have also shown interest,” said one of the officials cited earlier.
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