UK-based firm plans to set up semiconductor unit worth ₹30,000 cr in Odisha

A UK-based company is planning to set up a semiconductor fabrication unit in the Ganjam district of Odisha, said officials on Saturday, adding that an amount of ₹30,000 crore will be invested in the first phase, according to the news agency PTI. 

The SRAM & MRAM Technologies and Projects India Pvt Limited, the Indian unit of UK-based SRAM & MRAM Group, had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government on March 26 to set up the semiconductor unit in the state.

Its Indian company officials headed by its chairman Guruji Kumaran Swami visited some cities near Chhatrapur in the district and then held a meeting with the district administration at Chhatrapur on Thursday.

Ganjam Collector Dibya Jyoti Parida has assured the investors of all facilities for setting up the unit. The company requires around 500 to 800 acres of land to establish the unit.

Debadutt Singhdeo, project director of the firm said, “We have visited some sites, including the industrial park of Tata and some private lands for the establishment of the proposed semiconductor unit. A technical team of the company will visit the district to finalize the site.”

The company officials also visited some other districts in Odisha as well, but they preferred the site near Chhatrapur due to its proximity to Gopalpur port, a dedicated industrial corridor, an airstrip, and a national highway, besides the availability of clean water and energy – the basic requirement of the fabrication unit, PTI reported, citing sources. 

Singhdeo said that the company aims to establish the unit within two years and to provide direct employment to 5,000 people. It has also planned to expand the unit in subsequent phases by investing around ₹2 lakh crore by 2027. 

The semiconductor unit will produce memory chips, used in mobile phones, television sets, laptops, air conditioners and ATMs. Since the country is not self-reliant on the manufacture of semiconductors, it imports around ₹3 lakh crore semiconductors annually from different countries.

(With PTI inputs)