US-based Silicon Power to invest Rs 1,000 crore for silicon carbide plant in Odisha

U.S.-based Silicon Power Group will invest 10 billion rupees ($121.73 million) to set up a facility in India's Odisha state to make 150 millimetre silicon carbide, a semiconductor component, the state's chief minister's office said late Thursday.

The investment will be made by the group's Indian unit, RiR Power Electronics, and the company has committed to start operations in the next 18 to 24 months, the chief minister's office said in a statement.

Silicon carbide is a component that goes into chips used in electric cars and other industrial power and energy applications.

The move comes as top executives from Foxconn and semiconductor firms Micron and AMD are set to attend a conference in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat, an effort by the federal government to lure investments.

The local chip market is estimated to be worth $80 billion by 2028, almost four times its $23 billion size now, with India aiming to establish itself as a semiconductor manufacturing hub rivalling the likes of Taiwan.