India takes semi-conductor strides 

By our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, September 14: At a time when the large companies are searching for Taiwan-China alternative, Gujarat has boosted India’s chips profile after the state government and the Vedanta-Fixconn combine signed MoU for Rs 1. 54 lakh crore plant.

Semi-conductor chips are lifeline of the modern economy for being the key components in diverse sectors, ranging for automobile to satellites, missiles to mobile phones, and several others.

The Karnataka government had a few months ago signed an agreement with an Israel-based semi-conductor giant ISMS Analog Fab Pvt. Ltd for a $3 billion investment in setting up a fabrication cum design plant.

Following the visit of the House Speaker of the US Congress Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, the world is growing wary of the semi-conductor supply, with China likely to further step up heat after the October Communist conference in the country to chase Xi Jinping’s One China Policy more vigorously. Taiwan, incidentally, is the global factory of semi-conductor chips.

Anil Agarwal of the Vedanta Group, who is a multi-billionaire, has tied up with Foxconn for setting up the semi-conductor plant in the country. Agarwal had been seeking aggressive terms of investment in the favour of the joint venture from the states such as Karnataka, Maharashtra and others. He had met several Chief Ministers in the recent past to get the best terms of investments, while finally he agreed for Gujarat.

With Karnataka and Gujarat now firmly on the semi-conductor chips map, India may seek to insulate from any adverse events in the Taiwanese straits in the next few months.

It may be recalled that the automobile sector in particular had badly been hit last year due to the chips shortage, because of the supply chain disruptions.

Besides, the Indian companies on their own are also in an overdrive to enter the lucrative semi-conductor, business with the Tata Group already having expressed the intent, while its newest acquisition Tejas Networks is also said to be working on such a plan.

The government estimates that the Indian semi-conductor market will be somewhere around $110 billion in the next few years.

The Central government has also come out with Rs 76,000 crore semi-conductor mission to drive the self-reliance pitch for the critical chips.

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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