Govt invites bids to modernise semiconductor lab in Mohali

The government has invited bids from Indian and global companies with technological and operational expertise to modernise the Semiconductor Lab in Mohali. The bids can be submitted till October 21.

As per the proposal, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is looking to modernise the SCL by transforming it into a research and development centre of excellence, transforming it into an at-scale manufacturing facility or a combination of both, a bid document of the IT ministry said.

The SCL will continue to fulfil the semiconductor chip demand of government agencies such as the Indian Space Research Organisation, as it does currently, the ministry said.


To make the SCL into an R&D centre, the IT ministry has proposed setting up a new R&D-cum-prototyping line for 300 mm wafer processing on advanced nodes such as 28 nm or below.

The bidder will need to ensure the end-to-end setup and operationalisation of the R&D fab if they choose to apply to modernise the lab. They will also have to look at technology transfer, material and equipment supplies, installation, operational testing, commissioning, onsite and offsite skilling of operational manpower and periodic maintenance.

“The proposed facility shall primarily be used for applied research and development purposes along with providing prototyping support / multi-project wafer support to startups/universities and other members of the Indian as well as global industry. The proposed facility shall also provide practical/hands-on training programmes for semicon talent enablement in India,” the IT ministry said in the

Applicants must also provide a clear roadmap on progressing from “28nm to 14nm and below nodes over time, preferably with baseline logic capabilities”, if they choose to apply to modernise SCL, the bid document said.

To make SCL into an at-scale manufacturing-focused entity, the IT ministry wants bidders to submit proposals which can make it into a semiconductor or a compound semiconductor, or assembly, test, and packaging unit. The government may choose to extend capital support of 50% of the project cost or invest 100% of the capital and retain ownership of the modernised entity.