Tatas looking to make a foray into semiconductor manufacturing

MUMBAI: Tata Group is looking to make a foray into semiconductor manufacturing, chairman N Chandrasekaran said.

Pegging the market opportunity of high-tech manufacturing of electronics at $1 trillion, Chandrasekaran said Tata Group has already set up a business to seize the opportunity.

His remarks come days after the $100-billion group announced entry into 5G equipment manufacturing and a string of acquisitions to create the Tata Digital business.

Semiconductor manufacturing, which involves building chipsets among other things, requires high investments and India does not have any such facility yet.

Chandrasekaran explained that alterations to the global supply chains, which are heavily dependent on China, in the aftermath of the pandemic and geopolitical changes, will make businesses shift their reliance on other countries and called this a huge opportunity for India, which becomes the second base.

“At the Tata Group, we have already pivoted into a number of new businesses like electronics manufacturing, 5G network equipment as well as semiconductors, in all probability.

“On rebalancing supply chains, India can significantly benefit from the geopolitical that we are seeing. At the group, we have already set up a business to seize the promise of high-tech manufacturing of electronics, precision manufacturing, assembly and testing and semiconductors in the medium term,” he said while speaking at IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s AGM.

He, however, did not elaborate on the exact plans on this front for the group.

Chandrasekaran said he sees four trends emerging in the postpandemic world—rapid digital acceleration, new approach to supply chains, a re-imagination of growth with environmental sustainability at the core and inclusion of health and wellness concerns by every business.