The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe.
Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and even tooling and logistics for semiconductors and electronics, reflecting a comprehensive strategy to bolster domestic manufacturing and innovation.
The US$10 billion “India Semiconductor Mission” provides up to 50 percent of the project costs as fiscal support for semiconductor, display fabs and ATMP/OSAT projects. Additionally, state governments like Gujarat contribute an extra 20 percent toward project costs. Leveraging these incentives, Micron Technology in June last year announced a new US$2.75 billion assembly and testing facility (ATMP).
In February, the Indian government greenlit another three semiconductor projects, including a semiconductor fab to be developed by Tata Electronics Private Ltd and Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp of Taiwan, starting with a capacity of 50,000 wafer starts per month and costs more than US$10 billion. For these projects, construction and operationalization are being facilitated and accelerated through a “whole of government” approach.
Understanding the demand dynamics of India’s electronics manufacturing transformation is equally crucial. India’s manufacturing industry is projected to become a US$1 trillion market by next year and US$7.5 trillion by 2047, data compiled by Ernst and Young showed.
The expansion of India’s manufacturing market is propelled by key macro trends, including the telecommunications sector, where India stands as one of the largest markets for mobile phones and Internet usage, including 5G data. Additionally, the automobile sector, particularly electric vehicles, the Internet of Things, defense and the aerospace industry are significant contributors to this growth trajectory.
India’s “Digital Revolution,” fueled by digital public goods like Unified Payments Interface, Aadhar and “India Stack,” have revolutionized and democratized payments, identity verification and many aspects of governance. This software stack creates a need for a corresponding hardware stack, driving demand for enhanced manufacturing capabilities.
Experts identify “talent scarcity” as a key challenge for global chipmakers, yet India’s demographic dividend, marked by its young and technically proficient population, positions it uniquely to overcome this hurdle.
India boasts a highly skilled talent pool with 20 percent of the world’s semiconductor design engineers designing more than 2,000 chips annually. Key industry giants like Intel, Samsung, Micron, AMD, Qualcomm and Mediatek already have significant operations in the country.
Equally impressive is India’s burgeoning ecosystem of start-ups and research labs, particularly under the “Digital India RISC-V” program, which fosters an Open-Source ecosystem that spurs innovation and competition while reducing cost barriers. This has propelled start-ups such as “InCore Semiconductors” to develop advanced RISC-V processors building on the success of the famed indigenously designed SHAKTI microprocessor. Similarly, another start-up “Saankhya Labs” stands out for its pioneering work in developing indigenous 5G chipsets and software-defined radio solutions.
Furthermore, the Indian government has earmarked semiconductor and electronics talent development as a top priority. Under the “India Semiconductor Mission,” the government has partnered with 104 universities and institutions nationwide to revamp their semiconductor curricula and create specialized courses. This effort extends to partnerships with top global institutions like Purdue University for joint research centers and dual-degree programs. Also noteworthy is the fact that more than 15 Taiwanese universities have teamed up with Indian universities for academic collaboration and partnerships.
The respect for Taiwanese enterprises in India is well illustrated by the awarding of the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s most prestigious civilian honors, to Foxconn chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉). Taiwanese firms have been at the forefront of benefitting from Indian government programs like the “Production Linked Incentive Scheme.”
It is often said that IT has become a symbol of the India-Taiwan relationship, underscoring their economic complementarities. Both economies boast of substantial synergies ripe for development, particularly timely in the current geoeconomic landscape. For instance, the innovation and talent of Indian design houses can be realized through the excellent fabrication and manufacturing capabilities of Taiwan, thereby bringing benefits to both these innovative societies.
Thus, in this Techade, India and Taiwan must use their shared values of democracy and pluralism, and leverage synergies to fully harness the new age technologies for a safe, secure and prosperous future.
Manharsinh Yadav is director-general of the India Taipei Association.
Trying to force a partnership between Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and Intel Corp would be a wildly complex ordeal. Already, the reported request from the Trump administration for TSMC to take a controlling stake in Intel’s US factories is facing valid questions about feasibility from all sides. Washington would likely not support a foreign company operating Intel’s domestic factories, Reuters reported — just look at how that is going over in the steel sector. Meanwhile, many in Taiwan are concerned about the company being forced to transfer its bleeding-edge tech capabilities and give up its strategic advantage. This is especially
US President Donald Trump last week announced plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on eight countries. As Taiwan, a key hub for semiconductor manufacturing, is among them, the policy would significantly affect the country. In response, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) dispatched two officials to the US for negotiations, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) board of directors convened its first-ever meeting in the US. Those developments highlight how the US’ unstable trade policies are posing a growing threat to Taiwan. Can the US truly gain an advantage in chip manufacturing by reversing trade liberalization? Is it realistic to
The US Department of State has removed the phrase “we do not support Taiwan independence” in its updated Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, which instead iterates that “we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait.” This shows a tougher stance rejecting China’s false claims of sovereignty over Taiwan. Since switching formal diplomatic recognition from the Republic of China to the People’s Republic of China in 1979, the US government has continually indicated that it “does not support Taiwan independence.” The phrase was removed in 2022
US President Donald Trump, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have each given their thoughts on Russia’s war with Ukraine. There are a few proponents of US skepticism in Taiwan taking advantage of developments to write articles claiming that the US would arbitrarily abandon Ukraine. The reality is that when one understands Trump’s negotiating habits, one sees that he brings up all variables of a situation prior to discussion, using broad negotiations to take charge. As for his ultimate goals and the aces up his sleeve, he wants to keep things vague for
RSS