Tata starts training workers at Gujarat chip factory | Latest India News

Tata Electronics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, has partnered with Taiwanese chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) to set up a factory in Dholera Special Investment Region. The first chip is expected to be manufactured at the facility by the end of 2026.

The first batch of Tata Electronics employees currently being trained by PSMC are Indian nationals living in Taiwan who were recently hired by Tata Electronics, two people familiar with the development said on condition of anonymity. They are expected to be joined by additional batches of Tata Electronics employees from India from October, they said.

“In total, PSMC will initially train about 200 people in the highly specialized skills required for the endeavor,” one of the people said.

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An external Tata Group spokesman, responding to an email query, declined to comment on the development. An Indian official aware of the development, requesting anonymity, said the Tata Electronics-PSMC venture is a significant industrial development that is expected to prepare India for the future.

“The Taiwanese company has the required technology and Tata Group has the required IT expertise. Both companies are ideally suited for high-value manufacturing that requires specialized training of local manpower in batches. The government is committed to supporting such requirements with necessary regulatory approvals,” the official said, declining to be specific about the company.

Tata Group plans to train thousands of people, including on-the-job training and skill enhancement, and obtaining visas for this purpose will not be a problem, the official added.

On February 29, the government approved Tata Electronics’ proposal to set up a plant in Dholera, a major step under the “Make in India, for the world” campaign.

India has been courting Taiwanese chipmakers including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and PSMC, as well as smaller firms that play key roles in semiconductor supply chains, as part of New Delhi’s ambitious plans to become a leading player in the market for integrated circuits needed for both consumer products and sensitive security equipment.

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The two people mentioned above said that Tata Electronics had hired several TSMC employees for its Dholera venture to build the management team required to carry out this crucial project.

Before groundbreaking work began in Dholera in March, Frank Huang, president of PSMC, said the venture would involve technology transfer and would initially use 28-nanometer (nm) integrated circuits.

Tata Group said the AI-enabled factory will have the capacity to produce up to 50,000 wafers per month. It will make chips for applications such as power management ICs, display drivers, microcontrollers and high-performance computing logic to meet the needs of sectors such as automotive, computing and data storage, wireless communications and artificial intelligence.

The Indian official quoted above said, “The project has the government’s nod because India wants to become self-sufficient in integrated circuit manufacturing, which is an essential part of any future industrial achievement.”

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At the same time, the Taiwanese side has been pushing Tata Group to have Air India launch direct flights to Taipei as part of efforts to improve connectivity and boost trade and investment, the people cited above said. There are currently no direct flights between the two sides, and Taiwanese airlines such as China Airlines and EVA Air have no capacity to launch flights to New Delhi, they said.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs and Taiwan’s Ministry of Labour are also finalising arrangements to send the first batch of Indian workers to the island in early 2025 under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on migration and mobility signed in February this year, the people said.

The group is expected to include workers in the construction and manufacturing sectors, and the number of workers has not yet been determined, they said. Taiwan could hire up to 100,000 Indians to work in factories, farms and hospitals.

India and Taiwan do not have formal diplomatic relations, although both countries established representative offices in each other’s capitals in 1995. In addition to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in New Delhi, Taiwan opened an office in Chennai in December 2012 and plans to expand its presence in the country by opening a new office in Mumbai.