- “All I can say right now is that this technology is vital for our nation and we need companies to step up and make the investment,” Vembu says.
- India has given green signal to construction of three semiconductor plants worth over $15b by firms including Tata Group and CG Power.
India’s software-as-a-service provider Zoho clarified on X social media platform that the “company is not ready to announce anything yet on semiconductor fabrication unit”.
The Zoho Founder and CEO Sridhar Vembu had announced plans in March to create an advanced chip design facility in Tenkasi district in Tamil Nadu.
Reported have hinted that Zoho had submitted a proposal to invest between $500-$700 million under the production-lined incentive (PLI) scheme for a chip design and manufacturing facility in the country.
“All I can say right now is that this technology is vital for our nation and we need companies to step up and make the investment,” Vembu posted on X.
He said that the government is very supportive and now is the time but I cannot say more “right now”.
Personal mission
“Our nation needs to step up our investment in industrial R&D, with industry and academia working together to figure out all the complex technologies that underpin economic prosperity.”
“My personal mission is to combine that R&D focus with RD (rural development) in a holistic way,” he said, adding that “I am sorry I cannot say more right now.”
According to the latest industry data, the current electronics manufacturing at nearly $103 billion translates to a semiconductor requirement of $26-$31 billion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for three semiconductor projects worth Rs1.25 trillion in March this year.
In February, India gave green signal to construction of three semiconductor plants worth over $15 billion by firms including Tata Group and CG Power, with plans to manufacture and package chips for sectors including defence, automobiles and telecommunication.