6 chip manufacturing projects approved; to generate over 27,000 direct jobs: Minister

New Delhi, July 23 (IANS) The government has approved six semiconductor manufacturing projects so far with a cumulative investment of around Rs 1,55,000 crore, which are expected to generate more than 27,000 direct job opportunities, the Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

The government introduced the 'Semicon India Programme’, with an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore for the development of the semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada, told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

Semiconductor manufacturing is a highly specialised industry requiring a complex manufacturing process. Therefore, most of the jobs created in this industry are skilled jobs. Further, as the semiconductor industry is a foundational industry, these units are expected to have a cascading effect on employment generation in the other sectors and the supply chain down the line.

"Under the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme, the fiscal support is provided to the approved startups and MSMEs. Out of 22 design companies approved under the scheme so far, 3 companies are in the state of Telangana," the minister informed.

Apart from the above, design infrastructure support has also been approved for 11 companies in Telangana. Moreover, under the Chips to Startup (C2S) programme, 22 institutes from Telangana are being supported with design tools, and 6 institutes are being provided financial support, Prasada said.

Similarly, out of 22 design companies approved under the DLI scheme, so far, 3 companies are approved in Tamil Nadu. Design infrastructure support has also been approved for 6 companies in Tamil Nadu.

The C2S programme aims to develop 85,000 skilled manpower in the semiconductor sector. Under this programme, engineering institutions are provided with the necessary software and tools to design semiconductor chips. More than 45,000 students from 100 institutions have been enrolled.

A Skilled Manpower Advanced Research and Training (SMART) Lab has been set up in NIELIT Calicut in 2022 with an aim to train 1 lakh engineers nationwide. More than 42,000 engineers have already been trained.

The government is also collaborating with industry and universities such as Lam Research, IBM, and Purdue University, said the minister.

--IANS

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