GREATER NOIDA, Feb. 22 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said Uttar Pradesh is set to become a major centre of India's semiconductor ecosystem. He made the remark after laying the foundation stone virtually for a Rs.3700-crore project of India Chip Private Limited, a joint venture between HCL Group and Foxconn, for setting up an outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) facility in sector 28, located near Noida airport, along Yamuna Expressway. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Union minister for Railways, I & B, IT and electronics Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union minister of state for commerce and industry Jitin Prasada and Uttar Pradesh industrial development minister Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi participated in the ceremony on-site. Addressing the gathering virtually, Modi said the project portrays India's commitment to build a self-reliant semiconductor ecosystem. "The work on such projects is progressing rapidly with an aim to make India a developed nation. In 2026, the pace has been further accelerated and an ecosystem for semiconductor production is being prepared in the country. Uttar Pradesh has been a big contributor to make the country conducive for business. The world is looking at India as a tech future. Earlier, UP had an atmosphere of migration, deprivation, lack of facilities, and crime. Now it has completely changed," Modi said. "Uttar Pradesh is set to become a major centre of India's semiconductor ecosystem. Wherever a semiconductor unit is established, design houses follow, R&D centres are set up and a startup ecosystem develops. All of this is now going to happen in Uttar Pradesh," he said. "Today's work reflects our vision of building a self-reliant semiconductor ecosystem in India. A developed India can only be achieved when India becomes self-reliant. For that, it is extremely important that chips are made in India. Whether it is Digital India, Artificial Intelligence, 5G, 6G, electric vehicles or defence equipment - semiconductors are essential components in all of them. In the 20th century, nations that possessed oil gained prosperity and power. In the 21st century, that same power lies in small chips," he said. Referring to global supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, Modi said, "We saw how fragile the global chip supply chain was. When disruptions occurred, factories across the world came to a halt. India learned from that crisis and turned it into an opportunity. We resolved to make India self-reliant in chip manufacturing." Officials said the project spans 48 acres in Sector 28, which is part of Yamuna City. The advanced OSAT facility is expected to be operational by 2028 and the project will manufacture display driver integrated circuits (DDICs) and have a planned capacity to process 20,000 wafers per month. It is touted to produce at least 3,500 direct and indirect jobs and catalyse the development of local supply chains. HCL Technologies chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra and Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) chairman Young Liu also attended the ceremony. India Chip Pvt Ltd is a 60:40 joint venture between HCL and Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd.), the world's largest electronics manufacturing services provider. Adityanath said is now on the path of development due to the excellent law and order. Officials said the project will strengthen India's domestic semiconductor supply chain and reduce dependence on imports. particularly in the display driver chip segment used in consumer electronics and automotive applications.The development comes as India seeks to position itself as a key player in the global semiconductor value chain under the India Semiconductor Mission. Apart from this, 10 other companies - Vivo Mobile India Private Limited, Sify Infinite Spaces Limited, Aditech Semiconductors Private Limited, Ascent K Circuit Private Limited, Kaynes Semicon Private Limited, Polynomous Industries Private Limited, Amber Enterprises India Limited, Dixon Technologies Limited, AM Green India Private Limited and Havells India Limited -- have also started the process to buy land to establish their semiconductor and electronics product manufacturing units in Yamuna City helping the region become a hub for the semiconductor units, said YEIDA officials....