Rajasthan’s First Semiconductor Plant: Sahasra ATMP in Bhiwadi
Why in the news
Rajasthan entered the semiconductor space with the opening of a packaging and testing plant at Bhiwadi, run by Sahasra Semiconductors Pvt. Ltd. It is also the country’s first ATMP/OSAT unit led by an SME.
Key facts
- Operator: Sahasra Semiconductors Pvt. Ltd.
- Site: Electronics Manufacturing Cluster (EMC), Salarpur, Khushkhera, Bhiwadi, near Delhi-NCR.
- Investment: over ₹150 crore under the SPECS scheme.
- Cleanrooms: Class 10K and 100K, enough for packaging-stage work.
- ATMP means Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging; OSAT means Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test. Both are the back-end of the value chain.
Plant snapshot
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Starting capacity | 60 million units per year |
| Planned capacity (2-3 years) | 400-600 million units per year (roughly 6-10 times) |
| Products | Micro SD cards, flash storage devices, LED driver ICs, eSIMs, RFID products |
| Firsts | Rajasthan’s first; India’s first SME-led ATMP/OSAT |
Significance
- Shows the chip ecosystem widening from big corporates to smaller specialist firms.
- Packaging is the most labour-intensive stage, so it creates more direct jobs than capital-heavy fabs, and cuts import dependence.
- Serves domestic electronics makers sooner than waiting for fabs.
- Products are mass-market consumer and IoT parts, not cutting-edge logic chips.
Background
- SPECS: Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors, giving roughly 25% incentive on capital expenditure.
- EMC: a MeitY scheme backing industrial clusters with world-class infrastructure for electronics.
- India Semiconductor Mission: launched in 2022 under MeitY; runs the Modified Programme (announced December 2021, outlay ₹76,000 crore) covering fabs, display fabs, ATMP/OSAT, compound semiconductors, sensors and design.
- DLI scheme: incentives for Indian chip design firms, start-ups and MSMEs.
- Value chain: design, front-end fab, back-end ATMP/OSAT, then distribution to equipment makers.
- Other projects named: Tata-PSMC fab at Dholera; Micron, CG Power-Renesas-Stars and Kaynes units at Sanand; Tata OSAT at Morigaon, Assam.
Exam angle
- Full forms: ATMP and OSAT; nodal ministry for ISM and EMC: MeitY.
- Numbers: ₹150+ crore, 60 million units, ₹76,000 crore outlay.
- Place: Bhiwadi, Alwar district, Rajasthan.