India plans to break ground on its first semiconductor assembly plant in August and kick off production of its first domestically manufactured microchips by the end of 2024, as per a report published on July 5.Information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Micron Technology would begin construction on a $2.75-billion chip assembly and test facility in Gujarat next month, the newspaper reported.Earlier this June, the US-based semiconductor behemoth, Micron Technology, had announced its plans to set up a new assembly and test facility in Gujarat, in an ambitious $825-million dollar investment. This facility will enable the assembly and test manufacturing for both DRAM and MAM products, addressing demand from both domestic and international markets.The recent development further reaffirms the Narendra Modi government’s promise to establish India as the largest semiconductor hub globally. On these lines, the government had announced the Semicon India Programme under the India Semicondcutor Mission (ISM) in December 2021 for the development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in India. The programme has a financial outlay of Rs 76,000 crore.The government’s ISM is also doing “extensive work” to back support from other supply-chain partners, including suppliers of chemicals, gases and manufacturing equipment, alongside companies interested in setting up silicon wafer fabrication plants, Vaishnaw noted in his interaction with the newspaper. “This is the fastest for any country to set up a new industry,” he said.India is on a pioneering mission to establish its capacity in producing smartphones, batteries, electric vehicles and other electronics. Micron’s Gujarat project will give the country the much-needed leap towards fortifying its tech manufacturing space, which has been seeing a sluggish growth compared to other export-driven economies.