New Delhi: Tata Electronics’ upcoming semiconductor fabrication plant at Dholera will support Indian chip startups with design tape-outs, expanding domestic capabilities beyond the state-run Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali, Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Tape-out is a key stage in chip development, where a completed design is sent to a fabrication unit to produce prototype chips for testing.
Due to the absence of advanced local facilities, many Indian startups currently depend on overseas fabs such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and US-based GlobalFoundries, a reliance that raises costs and limits detailed testing and failure analysis.
Addressing an industry event in New Delhi, Vaishnaw said the Dholera fab will cater to chips in the 28 nm to 90 nm range, complementing SCL Mohali’s 180 nm technology. Together, these facilities are expected to cover nearly 75-80 per cent of commonly manufactured chips globally within the next two to three years.
The minister also met 24 chip design firms selected under the Design Linked Incentive scheme, 14 of which have secured around Rs 430 crore in venture funding.
Currently operating on legacy technology, SCL Mohali is set to be modernised over three years with an investment of Rs 4,500 crore.
