India plans to unveil a more than 1 trillion rupee (US$10.8 billion) fund aimed at bolstering domestic chipmaking, advancing its bid to become a global manufacturing hub.
The fund — which would provide subsidies for chip design projects, manufacturing equipment and supply chain development — might be launched in two to three months, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named as the plan is not yet public.
The plan is still under discussion and might change.
Photo: EPA
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to accelerate India’s chip campaign, which is in early stages with just a handful of major projects under way.
US memorychip maker Micron Technology Inc is establishing an assembly facility in Gujarat state, while Indian conglomerate Tata Group is building a semiconductor fabrication plant in Modi’s home state of Gujarat, along with a separate chip packaging unit.
India’s push, although smaller in scale, is similar to the US$52 billion US Chips and Science Act that funds local chipmaking capacity.
The country is hoping to woo major chipmakers to the world’s most populous country with its engineering and design talent, as well as subsidies, in much the same way it has helped Apple Inc expand in the region.
While India’s early projects are focusing on less-sophisticated chips, it has ambitions to move up the value chain to more advanced semiconductors.
New Delhi has set its sights on catching up with leading producers such as Taiwan, South Korea and the US, as the country aims to develop chipmaking capabilities comparable to major global leaders by 2032, Indian Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said in November last year.
Separately, Japan has set a new sales target for domestically produced microchips, with the country aiming for an eightfold increase by 2040 compared with 2020 levels.
Japan holds less than 10 percent of the global chip market, but Tokyo is investing heavily in new factories in a bid to change that.
In a strategy meeting on Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae’s administration said that it aims to boost sales of Japan-made chips to ￥15 trillion (US$95 billion) by 2030, and ￥40 trillion by 2040.
The 2040 target compares with sales of about ￥5 trillion in 2020, Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry data showed.
Newly founded Japanese chipmaker Rapidus Corp is building a plant in the country to make cutting-edge 2-nanometer chips, with mass production slated for next year.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, last month said that it would produce advanced 3 nanometer semiconductors at a factory under construction in Japan.
Additional reporting by AFP
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