Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday inaugurated the state’s first semiconductor manufacturing OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test plants) plant in Navi Mumbai which will reduce the country’s reliance on imported semiconductor chips.
RRP Electronics Ltd, a company supported by former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, has setup this plant with an investment of Rs 12,035 crore.
Shinde, along with his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, Industries Minister Uday Samant, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, Rajendra Chodankar, Chairman of RRP Electronics Limited and Anil Kakodkar, a renowned figure in India’s energy sector, was present at the event.
Eknath Shinde said that around 400 people will work in this unit. “As of now, RRP has invested Rs 12,035 crore and in the coming days they are going to invest an additional Rs 24,538 crore. These chips are important as there is a growing demand for smaller, efficient, and faster electronic devices. The state will support these industries and will be available to help them,” the Chief Minister said.
On a lighter note, Shinde said, “Sachin Tendulkar is God of cricket. When he reached from pitch to chip, we didn’t realise. On pitch there is umpire, but chip needs conductor.”
Speaking at the event, Devendra Fadnavis said, “Disruption in supply chain during pandemic made us depend on countries like China. Hence a need to have manufacturing units in our country was felt. Maharashtra is the first state in the country to have a policy on semiconductors and prepare an ecosystem for it. RRP is leading this initiative. In coming days everything will be run on chips. To be part of this revolution we will need semiconductor manufacturing units. In coming days, we will proud to see world using chips made in India. Hence, it’s an important day for us.”
RRP, which has ventured into semiconductor manufacturing in Maharashtra, has an investment plan of Rs 36,573 crore. The company has valuable patents, technology tie-ups with Israel and Spain, and a technology agreement with ST Micro Electronics, co-owned by Italy and France, marking the first semiconductor manufacturing project in Maharashtra.
In the first phase, OSAT plant with an investment of Rs 12,035 crore has been inaugurated. In the second phase, FAB Manufacturing (chip manufacturing) unit will be established.
