MASTERING THE CHIP SHOT

As developed nations around the world eye supremacy in global semiconductor supply, will India manage to make a space for itself? Or will geopolitics and historical challenges prevent the country from building the hitherto elusive chip ecosystem?

- Abdul Haleem Sherif

FOMO, or the fear of missing out, in an era defined by the rush to increase one’s self-reliance and economic capabilities is playing out at the macroeconomic level. Today, every country worth its salt wants semiconductor factories within its borders. India, with its high-octane pitch under Prime Minister Narendra Modi to become a developed nation, can ill afford to miss this bus.

In December 2021, India announced its $10 billion incentive programme to attract semiconductor players to set up shop in India. But, so far, it has just one assembly unit and no chip foundries. Three entities— Israel’s Tower Semiconductor, Taiwan’s Foxconn and a consortium from Singapore—had expressed interest in partnering in manufacturing chips in India. However, all of them seem to have hit a snag.

The most ambitious of these would have to be the one by Foxconn, announced as a joint venture with billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta. However, Vedanta Foxconn Semiconductors Limited (VFSL), as the joint venture was called, could not acquire ready-to-manufacture technology for its proposed 28 nm semiconductor foundry. It had signed deals for investment of around $19.5 billion in Gujarat.