The Tata Group and the Assam government have joined hands to set up several cancer care hospitals across the state.

The Tata Group will set up a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Assam’s Jagiroad with an investment of ₹27,000 crore. The facility will put the northeastern state on the global map, renowned industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata said.

Attaching pictures of him, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, Ratan Tata wrote on X that the investment would make the state a major player in the semiconductor space.

The investments being made in Assam transform the state in complex treatment for cancer care. Today, the state government of Assam in partnership with the Tata group will make Assam a major player in sophisticated semiconductors,” Ratan Tata said.

The Tata Group has already tied up with the Assam government to set up several cancer care hospitals across the state.

“This new development will put Assam on the global map. We wish to thank the Chief Minister of Assam Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma for his support and vision that has made all this possible,” Ratan Tata wrote on X.

Following the announcement, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also highlighted the significance of the facility in empowering the youth of Assam. “Today during my deliberations with the Tata leadership we agreed to create a Skill Development Centre that will be co-located within the premises of the semiconductor facility in Jagiroad,” Sarma wrote on X.

He said, “This centre will empower youths from North East by offering them courses in Artificial Intelligence, semiconductors & electronics and help them in securing jobs in the Jagiroad unit.”

“Already 1,500 youth from Assam, mainly women, are undertaking training at Tata facilities in and around Bangalore. This will place them in a leadership position once the semiconductor facility becomes operational in 2025,” he added.

On Tuesday, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that the first made-in-India semiconductor chip would be rolled out by December 2024.

“We will have the first made-in-India chip by December 2024. The first attempt at this was made as far back as 1962 but unless you have the correct policy and right conviction it can’t happen. PM Modi has the conviction that for Viksit Bharat we need electronics manufacturing. From TVs to power electronics, in everything we need semiconductors,” the minister had said.

On March 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stones for three semiconductor facilities with financial implications of about ₹1.25 lakh crore – two in Gujarat and one in Assam. Tata Group is setting up two of these three plants – one in each of the states.

Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt Ltd (TSAT) will set up a semiconductor unit at Morigaon in Assam. This facility is being built for ₹27,000 crore and will have a capacity of producing 48 million chips per day, which would be supplied to automotive, electric vehicles, consumer electronics, telecom, and mobile phones sectors.

Meanwhile, the Tata Group hopes that the commercial production of semiconductor chips at the two plants in Gujarat and Assam, whose foundation stones were laid on Wednesday, will start in 2026.

The semiconductor industry in India is still in a nascent stage, with various local and multinational companies intending to tap its vast potential.

Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt Ltd (“TSAT”) will set up a semiconductor unit in Morigaon, Assam. With a capacity of producing 48 million chips per day, this facility is being built for Rs 27,000 crore. Segments that will be covered are automotive, electric vehicles, consumer electronics, telecom, and mobile phones.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who was present during the foundation stone ceremony, said that industries in India had never considered the northeast region for businesses during previous industrial revolutions.

The region which was neglected in the past was included in the technological revolution by Prime Minister Modi, Sarma had asserted.

Tata Group hopes that the commercial production of semiconductors chips at the two plants – in Gujarat and Assam – whose foundation stones were laid on Wednesday, would start in 2026. Chip shortages during Covid realised the importance of indigenous manufacturing to fill deficiency, for national security and galvanise indigenous innovation.

Meanwhile, American chip maker Micron’s high-end semiconductor fabrication plant at Gujarat’s Sanand, which is India’s first, is coming into reality at a rapid pace. It is expected to be operational in late 2024.