State of MP, Cricket Semiconductor and IESA to come up with specialty fab

India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA) has disclosed details of their key role in enabling the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Cricket Semiconductor and the Government of Madhya Pradesh for an analog fab proposed to be set up in the state. They provided a strategic roadmap to the company for locating the proposed unit in the country. The industry body is also helping Madhya Pradesh for their investment promotion initiatives. The proposed investment is expected to be Rs.6,000 crore (US$1 billion) to set up an analog wafer fab in the country.

Madhya Pradesh recently approved the “Analog Semiconductor Fabrication [FAB] Investment Policy”  that provides for free government land, reimbursement for the cost of building the shell of the manufacturing unit, 24X7 power supply from two separate power grids and quality water supply at the doorsteps of the FAB units at an internationally competitive price fixed for 10 years. With this new policy, the state government will extend support to any fab investment that exceeds Rs.3,000 crore ($500 million) in the state.

Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) has been instrumental in attracting large-scale investments in India’s ESDM sector by formulating a conducive policy framework. DeitY and Government of India are working relentlessly to ensure “Ease of doing business” to realize the country’s  huge potential in bringing similar large-scale investments in the days to come.

“It is our great pleasure to announce the intent of US-based Cricket Semiconductor to set up India’s first Analog fab unit in Madhya Pradesh.  We have been the fastest-growing state in the country with over 17% CAGR in GSDP over the last 10 years. It has been our constant endeavour to transform the state into a fundamentally strong manufacturing-based economy and the electronics system design and manufacturing (ESDM) sector is a thrust area for us. We commend IESA’s role towards investment promotion for the state and its continual effort in elevating the country’s ESDM ecosystem and enabling the electronics industry to use semiconductor products manufactured internally. The Government of Madhya Pradesh aims for the state to serve as the heart of the Indian ecosystem for the ESDM sector. This is our commitment to achieving the goal of ‘Make in India’ through a strong manufacturing sector that shall provide jobs to our citizens,” said Bhupendra Singh, Hon’ble Minister for Science & Technology, Government of Madhya Pradesh.

Every electronics system contains significant analog/power chip content. Analog / mixed signal chips are used in the functioning of mobile phones, UPS inverters, smart meters, automotive and industrial production and thousands of other electronic products; therefore the chips developed at an analog fab cater to various industry segments. India has evolved from the PC to the mobile era and is now gradually stepping into the Internet of Things (IoT) era. IoT is very dependent on analog / mixed signal and this factor is spurring the prominence of analog fab in today’s context.