Vaishnaw Calls For Semiconductor Research & Development Center At IIT Gandhinagar

Union Minister for Communications and Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, on Thursday called for the establishment of a center of excellence dedicated to semiconductor research and development at IIT Gandhinagar. The minister emphasized the need for a million more talents in the industry over the next decade, which India can provide. Vaishnaw expressed the government's commitment to allocate necessary resources to create an ecosystem for R&D and innovation in the semiconductor field.

Speaking about the collaboration, Vaishnaw mentioned the engagement with 104 universities and institutions to promote talent development at the BTech, MTech, and PhD levels. Additionally, partnerships have been formed with institutions providing specialized training for managing clean rooms, a crucial aspect of semiconductor manufacturing.

Sanand Plant Milestones

Micron Technology CEO, Sanjay Mehrotra, shared updates on the progress of their testing and assembly plant in Sanand. “The construction of the first phase is underway, and the second phase is expected to commence in the latter half of the decade,” he said. Mehrotra mentioned the recruitment of nearly 200 employees, with some undergoing training at the Semiconductor Lab Centers in Malaysia and Mohali.

Key Memoranda Of Understanding (MoUs)

MoU between the Gujarat Government and Simmtech with a proposed investment exceeding INR 1,250 crore, expected to generate over 1,000 direct and indirect job opportunities in the state.

MoU between Micron and Namtech, the education initiative of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel, aimed at advancing country's semiconductor manufacturing talent pipeline.

MoU between CISCO and Namtech to establish academic programs focusing on cybersecurity, networking, and Artificial intelligence (AI) learning.