Mon, Jan 26, 2026 page7

• Building to succeed together: The Taiwanese story in India

  • By Ninad S. Deshpande
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  India is celebrating its 77th Republic Day today. For Indians, it is a moment to cherish not only the constitutional values that have found global acclaim, but also the partnerships that are shaping the nation’s role in the global economic future. Taiwan-India is one such economic partnership.

  Having recently arrived in Taipei, I have been struck by how often conversations are turning to the same refrain: Taiwanese enterprises in India are moving beyond mere presence to sustained success, and what ought to come next. These conversations reflect prudence, long-term vision and a preference for on the ground evidence over declarations — qualities that have shaped Taiwanese enterprises’ engagement with India.

  The success so far and the path ahead is based upon India’s operating environment that continues to evolve since the past decade. India’s growth is being shaped less by headline-driven declarations and more by what Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently described as the “quiet, cumulative work of governance.” Systematic reforms — simplifying labor laws, repealing obsolete legislation, rationalizing the regulatory framework governing business activity and reducing compliance burdens — have consistently and methodically bettered the operating environment for the long-term functioning of an enterprise.

  Globally, India is also improving its rankings. For example, in the past five years, India moved 10 places (from 48th to 38th) in the World Intellectual Property Organization Global Innovation index among 139 economies.

  This reform trajectory is now pitched against a changing global backdrop. As we all know, supply chains are no longer organized solely for efficiency, but increasingly for resilience. Capital is learning to become more patient. It seeks stability alongside scale. Tech-heavy industries are choosing partners not just for cost, but also for trust.

  Ability and long-term endurance to support complex operations is becoming a key criterion in this regard. It is getting bolstered by improvements in infrastructure. Digitized trade platforms, streamlined customs processes, modernized ports, shipping and logistics, and integration of the energy sector have reduced transaction costs that once constrained scale manufacturing. India has emerged as a significant production platform under the Production Linked Incentive framework — not as a short-term subsidy opportunity, but as a foundation for long-horizon manufacturing capacity.

  The improvements in economic infrastructure are complemented by India’s model of competitive federalism. Indian states are competing between themselves for ease of doing business, responding to investor needs and providing flexibility. For enterprises that value execution over announcement and continuity over volatility, these result in providing more choices and opportunities.

  The combined effect is making India not just easier to enter, but easier to operate over time — a distinction that matters deeply to enterprises planning in decades rather than quarters. Against this backdrop, the Taiwan-India economic relationship is reflecting a natural alignment of capabilities rather than an artificial construct.

  In electronics manufacturing, firms such as Foxconn and Pegatron have scaled operations by leveraging India’s ability to absorb complex manufacturing at volume. Engagement has broadened across the electronics, and information and communications technology value chain. Taiwanese enterprises such as Asus, Acer, MSI, Gigabyte, Phison and Advantech are engaging with India not only as a market, but as a manufacturing and engineering base, supported by partnerships with Indian electronics manufacturing and digital engineering firms.

  If electronics represent scale, semiconductors represent intent. Projects such as the Tata-Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp semiconductor fabrication facility and the Foxconn-HCL outsourced semiconductor assembly and test plant mark an important transition from aspiration to execution. Semiconductor ecosystems do not emerge through incentives alone; they require regulatory stability, energy security, skilled manpower and confidence in long-term policy continuity. India’s reform trajectory is creating these conditions.

  In sectors such as footwear, textiles and advanced materials, enterprises including Pou Chen, China Steel and Nan Liu illustrate how success increasingly involves skills development, supplier integration and design capability, supported by India’s large, layered workforce and manufacturing clusters across multiple regions.

  Meanwhile, financial engagement is expanding. Banks and market institutions on both sides are exploring deeper linkages. Labor cooperation frameworks are being developed to address workforce needs. Education and talent form another pillar. Academic partnerships, scholarships and joint training initiatives, particularly in semiconductors and advanced engineering, are moving in upward trajectory.

  As India marks its 77th Republic Day, the message that emerges is a steady and confident one. The success visible in Taiwan-India economic engagement is neither accidental, nor a product of short-term transactions. It reflects an ecosystem shaped by steady reform, credibility-driven governance and an ability to support long-term enterprises across a wide spectrum of activity. India’s ever-expanding network of economic partnership agreements provide an open and global framework for any enterprise that operate within.

  For Taiwanese enterprises, bigger or smaller, multinational enterprises or small and medium sized enterprises, the question no longer is whether to engage with India, but to identify most effective pathways for engagement as per their business models in this ecosystem, which is now designed to endure.

  Ninad S. Deshpande is director-general of the India Taipei Association.
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