Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the country’s first semiconductor plant at Sanand in Gujarat, and said a “loud and clear” message has gone out to the world that “India is capable, India is competitive and India is committed.”
He said India’s message for global investors was that “India is ready, India is reliable, and India delivers” and that both dynamic market and global opportunities await investors in the country. “India, long known for its software strength, is now firmly establishing its identity in the hardware sector as well,” he said.
The PM said the US-based Micron Technology’s ATMP (Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging) plant also reflected a deep partnership between India and the United States. India is “becoming an integral part of the global semiconductor value chain” and securing this as well as the supply of critical minerals was a goal of both India and the US, he said.
Speaking at the event, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, who was on his first visit to Gujarat after taking over in January this year, said US-India partnership is seen as crucial for shared prosperity and security.
“American leadership isn’t about doing it alone, it’s about working with our partners who share common goals and our vision for a secure, prosperous future… I can tell everybody in this room that our President has a dear friendship with your Prime Minister. It is something that has endured for many years in the past, and it is something that we will carry on for the next three years of the Trump administration in Washington,” Gor said.
Gor also hailed “India’s entry into the global semiconductor supply chain as a manufacturing nation”, and said it was just the beginning. “That is a direct testament to your Prime Minister’s leadership, to his vision and to his ability to secure the future for India and for our global partners.”
A government release said the Micron facility will manufacture SSD (Solid State Drive) storage devices as well as RAM type DRAM and NAND products, and that the company had invested Rs 22,516 crore for its Sanand plant.
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In his address, the PM spoke about the rise and rise of the Gujarat town, and said it all started with “a one-rupee SMS”.
He referred to the text message he had sent to the late Ratan Tata, inviting the Tata Group to open its Nano plant, which was facing problems in West Bengal, at Sanand. “I wrote swagatam (Welcome),” the PM said, adding: “Look what a Gujju can do with a Re 1 investment.”
Modi went on to recall his “close attachment” with Sanand. “It is a land that turns soil into gold… There was a time when I would come here by bus and travel on bicycles in its lanes. Sanand was my karyakshetra (work place) for long. And I have seen it change in front of my eyes, from a small town to a big city.”
Emphasising cooperation and collaboration in the areas of AI and chip technologies between India and the US, Modi said that during the Industrial Revolution, “countries that were ahead in factories, machines and mass production made rapid progress”. “But this is the century of the AI revolution, and semiconductors are the bridge to this change.”
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India announced its Semiconductor Mission at a time when the world was still battling Covid, Modi said, adding that this was now bearing fruit. He said his government had approved 10 projects under the Semicon India programme, and besides the Micron plant, three more would start production very soon, in Noida (Uttar Pradesh), Assam, Odisha and Punjab.
The PM said where India enjoyed an advantage was its significant manufacturing ambitions. And that, “whether it is electronics, automobiles, or other technologies, demand in India is constantly growing”.
As electronic component manufacturing expands, domestic demand for semiconductors will also grow, Modi said.
The PM said the semi-conductor plant would also usher in a new ecosystem at Sanand, the same as the Nano plant had done.
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“With the entry of one company, so many ancillaries came – a supply network (developed), local industries became strong and employment and investment both increased,” he said, adding that Gujarat would not let anyone feel any “kami (shortcoming)”. “I assure you the lifestyle, social life you want, the way you want to lead it, Gujarat will create that too.”
Modi also highlighted the speed of approvals for the facility. “When intentions are clear towards the country’s fast development, policies too are clear,” he said.
