Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday assured ‘all support’ to the capability centre of the world’s third largest semiconductor chips maker, GlobalFoundries (GF), a day after the US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a joint statement praised the combined efforts of the two nations to facilitate resilient, secure and sustainable semiconductor supply chains, including through GF’s Kolkata Power Centre in Calcutta.
The chief minister said in a post on X that the initiative to develop the semiconductor industry in Bengal was underpinned by a “long and arduous” exercise undertaken by the state IT department and Webel which had reached out to leading semiconductor companies and several chip designing and packaging start-ups after the Covid pandemic.
“Continuous deliberations coupled with successful promotion of the state’s capacity have led to GF’ recent proposal to set up a Global Capability Centre in Calcutta. I assure all support to the emerging investment in this frontier sector. Let Bengal be the true destination for knowledge-based industries,” the chief minister said.
The Telegraph reached out to GF on Monday, which said that the Calcutta facility, which came under the company’s fold in July through the acquisition of Tagore Technology’s Power Gallium Nitride (GaN) portfolio, will bring together design and application under one roof.
“In July, GF acquired Tagore Technology’s Power Gallium Nitride (GaN) portfolio, including its extensive IP portfolio and team of GaN engineers. We have designated this facility and team as the Kolkata Power Center, which brings together teams and lab facilities from design to application under one roof. The centre’s capabilities and successful record of end-to-end solutions, from product definition to end-customer support, that is helping GF accelerate the availability of GaN chips,” a GF spokesperson said.
GF clarified that it is not announcing new investment plans in India just as yet but the planning is on.
“We are not announcing any new expansion in India. As part of our global footprint strategy, we are exploring longer-term, cross-border manufacturing and technology partnerships on essential chips to better serve India’s growing semiconductor chip demand, that is fuelled by India’s exponential growth trajectory,” the spokesperson added.
In February 2024, GF was awarded $1.5 billion in direct funding under the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act. Part of that investment is targeted towards enabling the high-volume manufacturing of critical technologies, including GaN, to securely produce more essential chips.
Founded in July 2011, Tagore Technology was a fabless semiconductor company with design centres in Arlington Heights, Illinois, USA, and Calcutta. GF in July 2024 had said that the acquisition would power its IP portfolio and enable bringing differentiated products in the market.
GaN semiconductors are gaining importance because they offer better efficiency at smaller sizes and lower cost compared with conventional silicon technologies.
“The semiconductor project is truly transformational in nature. One such project has the potential to trigger more such projects and attract multiple industries. Bengal has an exceptionally skilled workforce available at affordable compensation packages. Infrastructure, resource availability along with affordable cost of living would attract talent if this develops,” said Chiranjib Bhattacharya, chairperson, IT Entrepreneurs and e-commerce Committee, The Bengal Chamber.
“This is a big news and would put Calcutta on the global map, especially in cutting-edge areas of technology such as semiconductors,” said Kalyan Kar, vice-president, Sector V Stakeholders Association.
“Semiconductor projects would be key to the growth of India. Bengal can provide access to adequate land, water and power apart from skilled workforce. More importantly, it would really boost our manufacturing aspirations,” said Arnab Basu, advisory leader, PwC India.
