The union cabinet chaired by the prime minister on Wednesday approved the establishment of one more semiconductor unit under India Semiconductor Mission.

There are already five semiconductor units in advanced stages of construction. With this sixth unit, India moves forward in its journey to develop the strategically vital semiconductor industry, an official release said.

The unit approved on Wednesday is a joint venture of HCL and Foxconn. HCL has a long history of developing and manufacturing hardware.  Foxconn is a global major in electronics manufacturing. Together they will set up a plant near Jewar airport in Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority or YEIDA.

The new semiconductor unit will attract investment of Rs 3,700 crore.

This plant will manufacture display driver chips for mobile phones, laptops, automobiles, PCs, and myriad of other devices that have display. It is designed for 20,000 wafers per month. The design output capacity is 36 million units per month.

The semiconductor industry is now shaping up across the country. World-class design facilities have come up in many states across the country. State governments are vigorously pursuing the design firms.

Students and entrepreneurs in 270 academic institutions and 70 startups are working on world class latest design technologies for developing new products. Twenty products developed by the students of these academic students have been taped out by SCL Mohali.

As the country moves forward in semiconductor journey, the eco system partners have also established their facilities in India. Applied Materials and Lam Research are two of the largest equipment manufacturers. Both have a presence in India now. Merck, Linde, Air Liquide, Inox, and many other gas and chemical suppliers are gearing up for growth of the country's semiconductor industry.

With the demand for semiconductor increasing with the rapid growth of laptop, mobile phone, server, medical device, power electronics, defence equipment, and consumer electronics manufacturing in the country, this new unit will further add to the PM's vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.