The Boise, Idaho-based technology company has visited two states to finalise the location of the new unit amid India’s drive to ignite the semiconductor and allied sectors, the people added.
ET has reported previously that Assembly, Testing, Marking, and Packaging (ATMP) — placing semiconductor wafers in casings and getting it ready for shipping — would be the first node to be localised in the electronic component’s supply chain.
With a quicker turnaround on investments, the packaging segment could also make the country an important node in the global supply chain of semiconductors, which are used from smartphones to high-end cars.
“Micron is into memory modules which they will assemble in India,” a source told ET on condition of anonymity. “It will be a fairly large investment and the incentive will come under the ATMP category. Gujarat and Tamil Nadu are on the radar.”
Micron continues to evaluate opportunities to strengthen its global manufacturing footprint, a spokesperson told ET, without commenting specifically on its India manufacturing plans.
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The company would continue to engage regularly with government agencies, partners, trade associations and consultants throughout the world on a range of topics, the spokesperson added.
“While we don’t discuss specifics of these engagements, we are encouraged by the steps India is taking to develop their semiconductor ecosystem, and we are proud of the engineering and technology development operations that we have been able to set up at our Hyderabad and Bengaluru sites,” the spokesperson said.
Micron joins a growing crop of multinationals looking to diversify its Southeast Asian footprint in a post-pandemic supply chain reshuffle that draws manufacturing away from China.
The US company has multiple operations – from design to system development – managed across many locations. Besides America, its primary R&D locations include Taiwan, China, and India.
In its 2021 annual report, Micron said that a substantial portion of its operations are conducted in Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, China, and India, and that many of its customers, suppliers, and vendors also operate internationally.
In the report, Micron had also pointed out the geo-political risks involving Taiwan-China as a potential threat to supply chain stability.
“For example, political, economic, or other actions from China could impact Taiwan and its economy, and may adversely affect our operations in Taiwan, our customers, and the technology industry supply chain,” it had said.
In fact, Micron’s India-origin chief executive Sanjay Mehrotra had co-founded SanDisk, the company that helped popularize flash memory storage devices.
The government last year announced a $10-billion incentive plan to spur the semiconductor supply chain, and a separate incentive section has been made for packaging.
Under this, 30% of capital expenditure would be picked up by central incentives for approved units; the Centre expects over 15 approvals for compound semiconductors and semiconductor packaging.
In the United States, Micron has lobbied for the passing of the $52-billion Chips Act, a subsidy to strengthen funding for semiconductor factories after an intense shortage post-pandemic led to severe impact on production of cars, gadgets, and other goods.
Micron is among a host of companies aggressively pushing for the Chips Act, arguing that delay could push manufacturers to alternative locations, including countries in Southeast Asia.
