UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Government Notifies India’s First Chip Fabrication Plant at SEZ Dholera

Q1. The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), which anchors India's chip strategy, is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A specialised and independent business division set up within the Digital India Corporation, operating under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to drive the Semicon India programme
  • B. A statutory regulator created by an Act of Parliament whose sole function is to license semiconductor imports
  • C. A wing that operates exclusively under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry with sole responsibility for notifying semiconductor SEZs
  • D. An inter-ministerial mission placed entirely under NITI Aayog with exclusive authority over all electronics-sector foreign direct investment

Q2. Which one of the following is India's first semiconductor fabrication (fab) unit for which a dedicated Special Economic Zone has been notified?

  • A. Micron's Assembly, Test, Marking and Packaging facility, Sanand
  • B. Tata Semiconductor Manufacturing Pvt Ltd fab, Dholera
  • C. CG Power–Renesas semiconductor unit, Sanand
  • D. Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test unit, Morigaon

Q3. The Tata semiconductor fab at Dholera, with an investment of about ₹91,526 crore, was approved by the Union Cabinet in which year, and with which foundry as its technology partner?

  • A. Approved in 2024; technology partner Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC), Taiwan
  • B. Approved in 2021; technology partner Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC), Taiwan
  • C. Approved in 2024; technology partner Renesas Electronics Corporation, Japan
  • D. Approved in 2023; technology partner United Microelectronics Corporation, Taiwan

Q4. The Dholera Special Investment Region, which hosts the semiconductor SEZ, is planned over roughly 920 sq km encompassing how many villages of Dholera Taluka in Ahmedabad district?

  • A. 8
  • B. 12
  • C. 22
  • D. 44

Q5. Dholera, where the semiconductor SEZ is located, is developed as a 'Special Investment Region'. In this context, which one of the following best describes Dholera?

  • A. India's first platinum-rated greenfield industrial smart city, developed under the Delhi–Mumbai Industrial Corridor
  • B. A pre-existing metropolitan city being retrofitted with digital infrastructure under the Smart Cities Mission
  • C. A coastal Export Processing Zone established directly under the Foreign Trade Policy
  • D. A hill-station township developed under the AMRUT urban rejuvenation scheme

Q6. In the semiconductor value chain, an OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) facility is best described as one that:

  • A. Assembles, packages and tests fabricated wafers into finished chips before they are used in end products
  • B. Only designs chip circuits and licenses the designs without owning any manufacturing facility
  • C. Manufactures wafers from raw silicon at advanced technology nodes
  • D. Produces the photomasks used in the lithography step of chip fabrication

Q7. Which one of the following is the principal legislation that governs the establishment and operation of Special Economic Zones in India?

  • A. The Special Economic Zones Act, 2005
  • B. The Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992
  • C. The National Manufacturing Policy, 2011
  • D. The Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951

Q8. India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0, announced in the Union Budget 2026-27, is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. A modified continuation-cum-expansion of the Semicon India programme, with a fresh outlay of about ₹8,000 crore, to deepen fabrication, packaging and chip-design capabilities
  • B. The original 2021 initiative that first created the ₹76,000 crore Semicon India programme
  • C. A scheme run by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry solely to notify semiconductor Special Economic Zones
  • D. A defence microelectronics programme executed exclusively by the DRDO