US Consul General Katherine Giles-Diaz on Wednesday met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Nabanna, the state secretariat. According to officials in the government, the meeting was on a proposed semiconductor manufacturing unit in West Bengal.

According to the government officials, Santech Global Inc, with headquarters in New Jersey, USA, has expressed interest in setting up a semiconductor project in Kolkata.

“Santech Global Inc is a global leader in high-tech innovation, specialising in emerging technologies like semiconductor, nanoelectronics, etc. We are in consultation with the company to extend the required support. We hope all these will contribute to a robust semiconductor ecosystem in West Bengal and a shared vision for technological advancement and open up many more economic opportunities for our state, particularly in terms of creating meaningful employment for the youth of West Bengal,” a release issued by the government read.

The government also said that the Global Foundries, another US-based company, was going to establish a fab-less centre for design, testing at Kolkata Power Centre. “They may expand to fabrication later. We have already provided them space. They got possession of a floor of about 13 thousand sq. ft. at Software Technology Park of India (STPI) IT park at Sector V, Salt Lake. Another space of around 19 thousand sqft has been requested by Global Foundries in the same premises of STPI. This is under process,” the government release said.

“We are also interested in setting up a power electronics ecosystem, and for this we are working with Global Foundries, Startup, Academia, and industry,” it added.

The government is also working with Global Foundries and universities for a joint internship program for students of West Bengal. “The Global Capability Centre Policy (GCC policy) for the state of West Bengal is being formulated and the consultation process is going on,” it added.