Centre wants work on at least one semiconductor facility to start in 2023

The Centre is hopeful that work on at least one of the semiconductor facilities, it expects to approve this year, will start by the year-end, a report in The Economic Times (ET) said citing an official. 

This comes as a 17-member expert panel from the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) revised its ratings for applicants' project proposals from three out of 10 to 9 out of 10. The panel consists of names like Vinod Dham, Ajit Minocha, Neelkanth Mishra and Ajai Chowdhry. It was appointed last year by the IT ministry.  

"We kept asking the group of experts about the ways in which the proposals can be improved. We had set ourselves a timeline of 14 to 16 months. There will be announcements on the final names soon," the official told ET. The panel has not announced the ratings given to the applicants yet. 

So far, the Centre has received three applications for chip manufacturing in India. These are from Vedanta-Foxconn joint venture (JV), Singapore-based IGSS Venture and the International Semiconductor Consortium (ISMC). 

The panel is looking at the applications based on several parameters like manpower hiring plans, technical qualifications and proposed technology framework. "The merit of the proposals submitted by the companies is not just about the money that they plan to invest or have proposed to invest. It is also about them submitting a detailed road map on ensuring timely delivery of the project," a second official told ET. 

The report added that the Centre is keen to have Foxconn set up a manufacturing plant in India. It also wants Foxconn to lead the JV with Vedanta. The two companies had last year signed an agreement with the Gujarat government to invest Rs 154,000 crore to set up a semiconductor plant in the state. Now, it has finalised the Dholera Special Investment Region near Ahmedabad city of Gujarat for setting up the factory.