India’s First Major Semiconductor Win As US Chipmaker Micron’s Gujarat Facility Set To Start Commercial Production Next Month

India's ambitions to establish itself as a global semiconductor manufacturing hub are poised to take a significant leap forward next month when Micron Technology's $2.75 billion assembly and test facility in Gujarat begins commercial production.

The American chipmaker's plant in Sanand has completed civil construction and entered final equipment calibration, positioning it as the first major success story of the India Semiconductor Mission.

The 93-acre facility will focus on assembly, testing, marking and packaging of DRAM and NAND memory chips for global markets.

Spanning 500,000 square feet of cleanroom space, the plant utilised modular construction techniques where structural sections weighing over 700 tonnes were pre-assembled, enabling Micron to complete the project in record time since groundbreaking in September 2023.

In an interview with the Economic Times, Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that four companies will commence commercial chip manufacturing in 2026, with Micron among the first wave alongside CG Power, Kaynes Technology, and Tata Electronics.

"The four plants that started pilot production in recent months...one of which is going to start commercial production in the third week of February, I just met its CEO and he's very happy with the work that has happened in India. This is in Sanand, the Micron plant," the minister was quoted as saying by ET.

The Sanand plant represents the largest investment under the India Semiconductor Mission, which has catalysed billions of dollars in cumulative investment across 10 approved projects in six states including Gujarat, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh.

The facility is expected to create 5,000 direct jobs and an additional 15,000 indirect positions once fully operational.

Micron's plant will transform wafers into ball grid array integrated circuit packages, memory modules and solid-state drives, serving both domestic consumption and international export markets.

The project received 50 per cent fiscal support from the central government and additional incentives representing 20 per cent of total project costs from Gujarat.

Industry observers view the Sanand facility as a litmus test for India's semiconductor ecosystem, with successful commercial production likely to influence decisions by other global chipmakers evaluating the country as a manufacturing base.

The plant incorporates Zero Liquid Discharge technology to address water sustainability in Gujarat's arid climate, setting environmental standards for future semiconductor facilities across the nation.

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