India courts chip-makers with Taiwan and Quad on its side, as it takes on China
- New Delhi is reportedly in talks with Taipei for a US$7.5 billion deal as part of a vision to become a new semiconductor manufacturing hub
- But for the plan to work, India must first address its governance issues, chip-making inexperience and the costs involved to take on Chinese firms, analysts say
Semiconductors, also known as chips, power everything from smartphones to computers, advanced medical equipment and modern cars, making them one of the most important components of electronic devices.
The government is also set to unveil a road map to create “champions in the design of semiconductors” and have a chip manufacturing unit in the country within five years, the Junior Minister for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said. Special incentive schemes for chip-makers willing to set up base in India have recently been launched.
Such dependence has come at a cost for Indian industries – Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest car-maker, was last month forced to cut its production by 60 per cent due to a global chip shortage. The shortage has also delayed the launch of India’s cheapest smartphone by a few months.