US chip maker Micron on Wednesday signed a deal with the Gujarat government to set up a 2.75 billion dollar facility in the state to manufacture and test semi-conductor products.
The Micron semi-conductor project was one of the many investment ideas discussed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with business tycoons during his recent visit to the United States.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the $ 2.75 billion (Rs 22,540 crores) project was signed here last night between Micron’s senior vice president Gurusharan Singh and Gujarat Government’s Science & Technology Secretary Vijay Nehra.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnav were present during the brief signing ceremony here.
The Micron’s semi-conductor assembly and test facility would be located at Sanand, about 20 kilometres west of Ahmedabad. Sanand has already emerged as an industrial hub ever since several automobile companies had set up their plants there.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnav said that it will be India’s first semi-conductor manufacturing facility. The first lot of chips will be manufactured here within 18 months, he added.
India’s dependence on imports for semi-conductor chips will be reduced when this plant starts production, Vaishnav said.
More companies are likely to set up semi-conductor projects in India, the Minister added.
The Gujarat Government has allocated the land within six days of the deal being finalised during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States, he said.
Micron senior vice president Gurusharan Singh said tha their plant at Sanand would generate 5,000 direct and 15,000 indirect jobs.