Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Tata Sons Limited Chairman N Chandrasekaran on Saturday performed the Bhoomi Pujan of the Rs 27,000 crore semiconductor (chip) manufacturing and testing plant at Jagiroad in Morigaon district. The Tata Semiconductor plant at Jagiroad is India’s first indigenous semiconductor manufacturing and testing plant. Both Sarma and Chandrasekaran performed the rituals amid chants of priests from different parts of the country. On this occasion, the Chief Minister unveiled the 3-D model of the semiconductor plant. Sarma said that this is a ‘golden day’ for the people of Assam and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tata Sons Limited for this plant.
There will be no problem in setting up the factory
The Chief Minister assured Tata Sons Limited Chairman N Chandrasekaran that the company will not face any difficulty in setting up the plant and the people of Assam will always be grateful for it. He said the plant could come to Assam due to the initiatives of the Prime Minister, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Electronics Minister Ashwini Vaishnav. Sarma said, “They had assured us that if Tata is ready to take one step forward, the Center will take two steps forward to ensure setting up of the plant in Assam.” Even after the reduction in militant activities in the state, very few private companies were willing to invest in the state, but Sarma said, “I had approached Chandrasekaran, who was then the Managing Director of Tata Consultancy Services, to co-sponsor the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT, Guwahati), and he immediately agreed.” Sarma said Tata is not new to Assam and they are working here in many sectors like tea industry, cancer care, health care facilities, automotive and now electronics. He said, “Tata could have set up this industry in any state of the country, but he chose Assam and we are grateful for that.”
1,000 girls have been recruited
He said Tata had assured that local youth will be employed and already 1,000 girls have been recruited. Chandrasekaran said Tata Group is committed to employing local youth, for which 1,000 girls have been recruited and “we are sure they will create and shape the future of the state and the country.” He also said that former Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata has given his best wishes to the project and the people of Assam. In another post on X, the Chief Minister’s Office said that once the plant becomes operational, it will change the industrial landscape of Assam and usher in a new era of growth. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of this plant through video conference on March 13 this year.
There will be an investment of Rs 27,000 crore
Tata Electronics’ state-of-the-art project in Jagiroad will entail an investment of Rs 27,000 crore and will provide employment to over 30,000 people. The first phase of the plant is expected to be operational by mid-2025. The company said the proposed plant will meet the growing global demands in key market segments such as AI, industrial and consumer electronics. The project will boost industrialisation in Northeast India.
