RIR Power Electronics Ltd. is expected to commence “full-fledged” commercial production of electronic chips by March next year, Principal Secretary in the Electronics and Information Technology Department of the Government of Odisha Vishal Dev told The Hindu.

In an interaction at the sidelines of the Semicon India 2025, Mr. Dev stated that the other two projects, that of SiCSem and 3D Glass Solutions (3DGS), are expected to start production in another two years.

Commencement of commercial production at the semiconductor maker’s Bhubaneswar plant is of immense significance to the eastern-Indian state, he said.

RIR Power on September 1, 2025, received ₹32.56 crore in fiscal support for Phase 1 of their silicon carbide manufacturing plant in the state’s capital. Spanning across two phases, the project is worth about ₹618 crore.

About the other projects, the Union Cabinet on August 12 had approved manufacturing units in four states, including Odisha, with a combined outlay of ₹4,600 crore. SiCSem and 3D Glass are to be set up in the coastal eastern Indian state. The former is collaborating with Clas-SiC Wafer Fab Ltd. (U.K.) to build the first commercial compound fab in the country, whilst the latter would be setting up a vertically integrated advanced packaging and embedded glass substrate unit – both in Info Valley, Bhubaneswar.

Leveraging inherent advantages

Mr. Dev, mentioning Odisha’s advantages in providing essential utilities, pointed to Odisha being a power surplus state and having enough water availability. “We have 11% of the country’s water resources whereas we are 3% of the country’s overall population,” he stated, adding, “We also have the cheapest power in the country.”

The Principal Secretary further held that the state has a semiconductor policy which is “by far the best policy in terms of comprehensiveness and quantum of incentives”.

Odisha’s Electronics Component Manufacturing (OECM) Policy, 2025, provisions for a 30% capital investment subsidy with no ceiling. Furthermore, the first five assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP) projects along with the first three fabs would also 50% subsidy. Neither of them holds any cap. Mr. Dev also underlined that skilling is recognised as a high priority sector in the realm.

Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw presented Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a memento containing the ‘Made in India’ Vikram 32-bit Processor Launch Vehicle Grade chip at the Semicon India 2025 on Tuesday (September 2, 2025).

The microprocessor chips were designed and developed by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre of the Indian Space Research Institute (ISRO) and the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL), Chandigarh. Utilised for space flights, it is an advanced version of the indigenously designed 16-bit VIKRAM1601 microprocessor, which has been utilised in the Avionics system of ISRO’s launch vehicles since 2009.

Other than containing the ‘Made in India’ chip, the memento also contained 31 more prototype chips created by academic institutions, including IIT Jammu, IIT Roorkee, IIT Dhanbad, NIT Durgapur, NIT Calicut and IIT Ropar, among others.

Foundation laid well 

In his address at the annual semiconductor conference, the Union Minister overseeing technology observed that in three and a half years since the inauguration of the Indian Semiconductor Mission, “the world is looking at India with confidence”. Elaborating about India’s progress in the realm, Mr. Vaishnaw said construction of five semiconductor units is going on at a rapid pace, with the pilot line of one unit completed. Two more units are expected to start production “in a few months from now”, he said.

“Overall, foundation of the foundational industry is laid very well,” Mr. Vaishnaw observed.

Pitching India as a potential manufacturing hub to the participants of the semiconductor ecosystem present on Tuesday (September 2, 2025), Mr. Vaishnaw said, “In these uncertain times, you should come to India because our policies are stable, we have attempted to cover all important aspects of manufacturing sector.”