CHENNAI: Less than a fortnight after announcing a new Rs 500-crore semiconductor mission, the state government on Thursday said the country's first-ever semiconductor manufacturing part has been shipped out of Coimbatore.

Announcing Tamil Nadu’s arrival on the international semiconductor stage, state’s Industries minister TRB Rajaa said, “Today, we celebrate the shipment of India’s first semiconductor equipment from Coimbatore, thanks to Yield Engineering Systems (YES) – with whom a deal was signed during Chief Minister MK Stalin’s visit to the US last year.”

In a post on X, the minister said, “Awesome news Again. Tamil Nadu ships out India’s first semiconductor manufacturing equipment! What a journey it has been for Tamil Nadu’s electronics ecosystem! From the early days of Nokia and Foxconn to today being India’s no.1 electronics exporter by a long, long distance.”

“Tamil Nadu’s first commercial VeroTherm Formic Acid Reflow tool, produced by YES at their Coimbatore facility, has been shipped to a leading global semiconductor manufacturer. This isn’t just for Tamil Nadu, this is for you, Kovai! With the new Rs 500-crore Semiconductor Mission announced in the TN Budget 2025, Coimbatore is all set to be a global semiconductor hub,” Rajaa said.

The state cemented its numero uno position in electronics exports with a record $12.62 billion from April 2024 to February 2025. Media reports citing the national import-export record for yearly analysis of trade said the state accounted for 37.09% of total $34.02-billion electronic goods exports from India.

KEY POINTS:

*Rs 500-crore Semiconductor Mission announced in the TN Budget 2025, Coimbatore is all set to be a global semiconductor hub

*Tamil Nadu leads India’s electronics exports with a record $12.62 billion from April 2024 to February 2025

*TN’s contribution accounted for 37.09% of the total $34.02-billion electronic goods exported from India