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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Jarkiholi is my colleague, don’t see us as enemies: DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has stated that Satish Jarkiholi and he are colleagues and not enemies.
Speaking to presspersons here, Shivakumar questioned the media for portraying tension between the two leaders. “It is true that Satish Jarkiholi and I met at a wedding last night. We discussed the state and the party. Satish Jarkiholi and I are colleagues. Why do you see us as enemies?” he asked.
Shivakumar was responding to queries near the new Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) office on Thursday.
When asked about Jarkiholi’s visit, he said, “We attend cabinet meetings in the afternoon, we meet for dinner, we meet for breakfast in the morning; these interactions are normal. In politics, friendship, relationships, and closeness always exist.”
He added, “Now, M.B. Patil and I spoke for about an hour about how to attract investors to the state, how Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are competing with us. A global conference will be held in Telangana soon, and we discussed how Karnataka should compete at the global level. It is natural to discuss the state’s progress this way.”
Speaking about the inauguration of the new KKRDB office, he said, “Businessmen in Karnataka should be respected. Their work should be facilitated, officers’ visits should be convenient, and files should be cleared quickly. The state government has built a new KKRDB office under the leadership of M.B. Patil. They had been in a rented building for so long; now they have their own office. It is close to Vidhana Soudha, bus and railway stations.”
When mediapersons asked about, leader of opposition, R. Ashoka’s comments regarding the Upalokayukta report that allegedly shows 63% corruption in the state, Shivakumar retorted, stating that, “It’s a pity that R. Ashoka doesn’t know the time period the report covers. Let him first read the report. Let him raise the issue in the session, and we will answer there.”
On whether a date has been fixed for the all-party delegation’s visit to Delhi, he said, “We still need to discuss it. The Union Minister said he is busy with the Parliament session, so we postponed the meeting scheduled for December 8. He had written a letter about this. The Prime Minister has a meeting with Prahlad Joshi. Nirmala Sitharaman has to introduce a bill that day. Somanna also said he will not be able to attend. A date will be fixed that is convenient for all of us.”
