With so much importance being put globally on hardware these days, especially on manufacturing chips, there was a widely noticeable and glaring gap in India’s ability, talent-wise and even infrastructure-wise, to be able to do so. With the dawn of the age of artificial intelligence, it has become increasingly clear that India requires in-house, world-beating Nvidia-like, chip manufacturing companies. To fill the vacuum, the Tata Group, which has one of the most successful software making companies in its fold in the form of TCS, has now planned to do exactly that. And towards that purpose, among the first things on the agenda is to hire expert talent.
For that, Tata Electronics has planned and will be going on a roadshow in Taiwan to attract top talent there and supplant them in India to kick-start India’s indigenous chip-making journey. Why Taiwan? Because the country is a global leader in chip production and it accounts for a whopping over 60% of the market, MoneyControl revealed in a report.
As far as building a facility is concerned, the Tata Group is looking to establish a semiconductor foundry and chip packaging plant in India.
The roadshow
Tata Electronics roadshow is scheduled for April 13 in Hsinchu county that touts a number of formidable chip fabrication plants like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Epistar, Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC), and United Microelectronics Corporation. This roadshow is set to happen in the wake of the massive 7.4 magnitude earthquake that hit Taiwan recently, but is not expected to act as an impediment.
People Tata wants
Tata Electronics is looking for professionals with 5 to 16 years of experience in various semiconductor manufacturing roles. However, importantly, they will have to relocate to India. Before that, they are expected to undergo an 18-month long training program in Taiwan itself.
Roles eyed
Tata Electronics is targeting seven roles, including equipment engineers, yield engineers, automation engineers, and diploma-holding technicians proficient in electrical and mechanical troubleshooting.
Tata Electronics facility
Tata Group is looking to build the infrastructure quickly and work has already started. A statement back at the end of February 29, had announced Tata Electronics’ entry in the global semiconductor industry. The statement said, “Government of India has approved a proposal from Tata Electronics to build a mega semiconductor fabrication facility (“Fab”) in Dholera, Gujarat in partnership with PSMC.” The total investment is up to Rs. 91,000 crore. This will be under the government’s expansive chip subsidy scheme.
Notably Tata Group highlighted its job creation potential saying it will generate over 20,000 direct and indirect skilled jobs in the region itself.
The chips Tata will produce
The target is to manufacture 28-nanometer (nm) chips, with additional variants in 50 nm, 55 nm, and 90 nm. These will be targeted at sectors such as electric vehicles, telecom, defense, automotive, consumer electronics, display, and power electronics.
