The Tata Group is reportedly in discussions with major international chips making firms for its $300 million chip-making unit project, including Taiwan.
Tata is exploring a pathway for a possible tie-up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), a Taiwanese chip manufacturer, for chip manufacturing in India, as per a report in Business Standard.
As the chip shortage across the globe hurdles the manufacturing of autos to smartphones and the dependence of firms on Taiwan for the chip supplies, governments are now subsidising the construction of semiconductor fabs. Tata aims to finalise the location for its fab by the end of this month and have it functional by late 2022. It has shortlisted Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Telangana as possible sites for its plants. After sourcing the sophisticated silicon wafers from semiconductors foundries like Taiwan-based TSMC, Fitch Solutions, the fab will assemble and test semiconductor chips, according to media reports.
India had previously chased semiconductor players to set up fabs but was discouraged owing to its infrastructure, unstable power supply, bureaucracy, and poor planning. India, in March 2021, proposed to offer over $1 billion in cash to every semiconductor firm that sets up their plant in the nation, as it seeks to build on its smartphone assembly industry and strengthen its electronics supply chain, according to Reuters.
Dependance on silicon wafers made offshore, growing geopolitical tensions in the region and the emergence of new Covid-19 variants are the limitations posing risks to Tata’s plans as reported earlier this week.
