Assam’s ‘Silicon Silk Road’: Highway to Thailand Powers $3 Billion Chipmaker Dream

Assam has introduced an ambitious new plan to become the next semiconductor hub of India: using the India-Myanmar-Thailand (IMT) Trilateral Highway, which is being built, as the crowning piece of a $3 billion pitch to semiconductor manufacturers worldwide. The state's leadership believes that, with this strategic corridor to Southeast Asia once built, Assam would be a key location for electronics exports, allowing for investments in the semiconductor industry. 

 

At the Assam Electronics Roundtable 2025 event in New Delhi, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma presented a series of government incentives that closely matched the sound and style of his speech. These incentives included a 60% top up on the Centre's production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, free land, exemption from Goods and Services Tax (GST), electricity subsidies, and plug and play infrastructure. The state also has a demonstrated commitment to provide funding for infrastructure development with a ₹25,000 crore fund under the Advantage Assam 2.0 efforts, and to meet its promised subsidies. 

 

A notable project under those efforts is the Ratan Tata Electronics Manufacturing City to be constructed in Jagiroad, supported by a loan from the Asian Development Bank, and adjacent to Tata's OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Testing) plant, which is projected to begin production this fiscal year, ahead of Semiconductor manufacturing facilities elsewhere in India.  Additionally, the state is investing heavily in talent, with the establishment of new skill universities and development of cooperation with IIT and IIIT Guwahati. The expected outcomes include a robust pipeline for the manufacturing of electronics.

 

At the same time, for all of Assam's plans to become the next Semiconductor Hub, the IMT Highway infrastructure itself has the capacity to reshape cross-border trade.

 

The 1,360 kilometer highway, from Assam to Thailand through Myanmar, is poised to reshape cross-border trade and logistics, reduce export costs substantially, and create new markets. While it is currently facing a host of completion challenges, Assam's promotion and push for infrastructure has already sparked the interest of foreign investments, including recent delegations of Japanese businesspeople. 

 

This approach is multi-pronged. The activities are not just roads, they represent new investment into India's semiconductor future. 

 

Source: Moneycontrol