The Indian government has received 18 proposals for the construction of semiconductor fabs as a result of schemes aimed at boosting semiconductor manufacturing in the country.

In response to a question asked to IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and first reported by The Register, it was revealed that four proposals have been received for setting up semiconductor fabs, with a further 13 put forward for the planned construction of compound semiconductor fabs and ATMP (assembly, testing, marking, and packaging) facilities.

The statement also noted the construction of an INR 22,516 crore ($2.75 billion) semiconductor AMTP facility by Micron Technology that was approved by the Indian government in June 2023.

The proposals have been made under the Modified Programme for Semiconductors and Display Fab Ecosystem, a $10 billion scheme that was authorized by the Indian government in December 2021. The program allows companies to apply for up to 50 percent of capital costs for eligible semiconductor and display manufacturing projects.

Although Micron was the only company named by Chandrasekhar in his statement, it was revealed over the weekend, it was revealed that Israeli company Tower Semiconductor had also submitted a proposal for the construction of an $8 billion chip fabrication plant in India.

If approved, Tower will produce 65nm and 40nm chips at the plant for use in automotive and wearable electronics.

In January 2024, it was announced that Foxconn had entered into a joint venture (JV) with HCL Group to set up an outsourced assembly and testing (OSAT) facility in India. Foxconn had originally been part of a $19.5 billion chipmaking JV with Vendanta, an India metals-to-oil conglomerate, but ultimately withdrew from that partnership in July 2023.

It’s unclear whether this new proposal would benefit from the Modified Programme for Semiconductors and Display Fab Ecosystem.