Govt earmarks Rs 4,500 cr to upgrade state-run chip facility SCL: Ashwini Vaishnaw
Mohali (PTI): The government plans to invest Rs 4,500 crore to modernise state-owned chip company Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) over the next three years, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday.
Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), is the only integrated device manufacturing facility in the country providing end-to-end solutions for the development of Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), opto-electronics devices, and Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) devices.
The minister said that the centre has requested the Punjab government for a 25-acre parcel of land to support the expansion.
"SCL will be modernised with an investment of Rs 4,500 crore over a period of the next three years," Vaishnaw said at the device handling ceremony here.
The investment in SCL is part of Rs 76,000 crore India Semiconductor Mission fund. SCL has already floated a tender to select vendors for the plant's modernisation.
The minister at the event handed over 28 chips to various institutions and start-ups that designed it which were fabricated and packaged by SCL in 180 nanometer node.
The Mohali-based plant has received a total of 94 designs under the government chips-to-startup program and two designs through its independent collaboration with Dhirubhai Ambani Institute and Vellore Institute of Technology.
Vaishnaw said SCL will play a significant role in realising the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for semiconductors and assured that there is no question of privatising the facility.
The minister said production at SCL needs to be increased 100 times. "There is a need to bring substantial change in technology. We need to take a big jump over decades-old technology that we have here. SCL Mohali will provide a 'tape out facility' for startups," the minister said.
A "tape out facility" refers to a semiconductor fabrication plant wherein a final chip design is sent to the manufacturing unit after completion of the design phase.
He said that 300 university students, undergraduate, research fellows are using the world's latest EDA tools for chip design in the country and SCL will play a significant role in the production of those chips.
EDA tools, or Electronic Design Automation tools, are software used to design electronic systems such as integrated circuits (ICs) and printed circuit boards (PCBs).
"We need to expand SCL Mohali. We have requested the Punjab government to allocate 25 acres of land. The faster you allocate the land, the faster it will help in the expansion of SCL Mohali," Vaishnaw said.
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Junior Hockey World Cup: IndiGo crisis disrupts travel plans of players' families, fans
Chennai (PTI): For Kate, the dream was simple -- to watch her son Fahy Noah play for the Australian team in the Junior Hockey World Cup here and visit the Taj Mahal.
But her plans, like those of many others, have been upended by the operational crisis that has hit IndiGo, India's largest domestic airline.
"I am here for the first time and India is so kind and welcoming. We were hoping to see the Taj Mahal, but with the IndiGo problems, we are a bit scared now," Kate, who has come from Brisbane, told PTI outside the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium here.
"One family went on a rest day and got stuck overnight. I think we will have to cancel all our travel plans now, though seeing the Taj Mahal was on my bucket list for long," she said.
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This is the first time that 24 teams are participating in the Junior Hockey World Cup, being held in Chennai and Madurai from November 28 to December 10. For most players and their families, it is their maiden trip to India. Many NRIs have also flown in to support the Indian team.
However, the widespread flight delays and cancellations have thrown schedules into chaos. IndiGo cancelled thousands of flights last week, citing regulatory changes in the pilots' flight duty and regulations norms. This resulted in lakhs of passengers getting stuck at airports across the country.
Laura, who has come from Belgium with her entire family to support her son, said they are now travelling by road.
"We are happy to be here in this beautiful country. We went to Munnar and Madurai, and now we are planning to go to Puducherry and Mahabalipuram by road," she said.
"We had taken IndiGo flights earlier, but some other families who travelled on different days got stuck and somehow managed to come back by train. So we are not flying anywhere in India now. Road travel only and then back to Brussels next week," she said.
For 87-year-old Kenyan hockey legend Avtar Singh Sohal, a four-time Olympian and a lifelong supporter of Indian hockey, the crisis was particularly distressing. He spent 12 gruelling hours at the Chandigarh airport on December 4 before finally reaching Chennai just in time for the quarterfinals.
"Our IndiGo flight was delayed by 12 hours. We were at the airport from 7 am to 7 pm. They kept giving excuses -- the aircraft has not arrived, the pilot is not available. We had no idea what was actually happening," he said.
Accompanying Sohal was 85-year-old Tarlok Singh Mandair, a former treasurer of the English Hockey Association, who had flown in from London.
"It was a horrible experience. They kept changing the timings from 12 noon to 4 pm and we finally took off at 7:20 pm. They gave us sandwiches which were not even good," Mandair recalled.
"Our return flight is also on IndiGo, but now we are exploring other options," he said.
Jujhar Singh Plaha, 86, from London, who was on the same flight, said his excitement has turned into anxiety.
"We were so excited about this trip; hockey is our first love. But this (IndiGo crisis) spoiled our mood. Now we are worried about returning because at our age, we cannot travel long distances by train or road," he said.
Jason, the father of Australian player Roger Lachlan, has had an eventful trip to India so far -- beginning with the rain in Chennai triggered by Cyclone Ditwah.
"We are from Hobart -- home of Ricky Ponting and David Boon. We arrived after a cyclone, which caused heavy rain. Now the sun is out and we are enjoying ourselves," he said with a smile.
Jason, too, has shelved all further travel plans.
"No sightseeing now. We will just eat, swim and head back. I am loving masala dosa, masala tea and curries," he said.
Some fans from Bengaluru, who had booked their flight tickets months in advance, decided not to take a risk. They opted for refunds and drove down to Chennai on Sunday to catch the semifinal.
"With flight uncertainty and trains full, we drove down. We did not want to miss India in the semis," said Vinod Chinnappa, who drove for six hours to come here.
Even officials have not been spared by the flight disruptions.
Digvijay Singh, an official of the Hockey India League franchise, waited eight hours at the Patna airport to catch a flight to Chennai.
"I did not want to miss the India-Belgium quarterfinal, so I waited. I finished all episodes of (web series) Family Man at the lounge," he said.
"I had gone to Patna from Delhi for a meeting earlier in the day and then needed to connect to Chennai," Singh said.
With the World Cup set to wrap up in two days, uncertainty about people's plans to return home looms large.
With prices of alternative flights rising and train seats nearly impossible to find, fans, officials, families and journalists are monitoring travel apps as closely as match updates.
If the situation does not improve soon, returning home could be as challenging as winning matches on the field.
