Taiwan’s Foxconn and India’s technology services major HCL are looking forward to setting up a semiconductor plant in Uttar Pradesh, according to a report.

In January, Foxconn and HCL had announced the formation of a joint venture (JV) to set up a semiconductor outsourced assembly and testing (OSAT) unit in India. The Foxconn said it would invest $37.2 million and will hold 40 per cent stakes in the JV.

Now, The Economic Times has reported that the Foxconn-HCL JV has secured a 30-acre plot of land from the UP government in Noida for the unit.

The plot is near the upcoming Jewar airport in the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) area of Noida.

The setting up of the OSAT unit as well as location of the unit are yet to be approved by the Centre. Once the approval comes, this would be the first semiconductor facility in UP.

The development comes at a time when India is looking forward to develop a semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in India. The Narendra Modi government has launched a production linked incentive (PLI) scheme to attract foreign investors to join Indian partners to set up semiconductor units in India. While some projects have been approved, a number of them are in the pipeline.

A source aware of the situation told the ET that the approval of the proposal is a mere formality at this stage.

“Once they submit it, the approval should come in within two or three weeks. ISM has said that this document is more a formality that has to be submitted but that the approval will come,” said the source.

So far, the projects approved by the Centre include those by US-based Micron Technology and Tata.

In June 2023, Micron received the Centre’s approval in June 2023 to set up an assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP) unit in Sanand, Gujarat. The export-oriented facility is expected to come up at a total proposed investment of $2.75 billion, of which Micron has committed $825 million and the rest will come from Union and state governments.

In February, the Centre approved a semiconductor fabrication unit of a joint venture of Tata Electronics Private Limited (TEPL) and Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC) of Taiwan.

Moreover, Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt Ltd (TSAT) is setting up an indigenous advanced semiconductor packaging unit in Assam.