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India wants to become a semiconductor powerhouse, but it can’t do it on its own

India’s semiconductor manufacturing industry is still at a very nascent stage, but it aspires to become a chip powerhouse.
As it develops the sector, the South Asian nation will need to continue to rely on Taiwan, China and the U.S.
“India is far behind China in semiconductor manufacturing. Although India may be able to run fast and catch up, China will be running faster,” said Rishi Bhatnagar, chair of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s future tech panel.

India has big ambitions to become a semiconductor powerhouse as the world’s fifth-largest economy pushes for self-reliance in manufacturing.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set numerous goals to propel the country’s semiconductor sector forward, with the latest and biggest target being to grow the country’s electronics sector from $155 billion today to $500 billion by 2030.

The announcement turned heads and raised eyebrows, and industry experts that spoke to CNBC have opposing views on whether the target is realistic. However, they all agree on one thing: India cannot achieve this goal on its own.

“While the speed of development seems to be fast and the momentum is there, India has just started to embark on the semiconductor industry development from scratch,” said Eri Ikeda, assistant professor at the Department of Management Studies at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.

Taiwan is currently the world’s largest chipmaker, holding approximately 44% of global market share, followed by China (28%), South Korea (12%), the U.S. (6%) and Japan (2%), data from Taiwanese consultancy Trendforce showed.

Bhatnagar pointed to how Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation will help India’s Tata Electronics to build the country’s first 12-inch wafer fab in Gujarat. He also noted American chipmaker Micron Technology is set to roll the first India-made semiconductor chip in 2025. Last week, U.S. chipmaker Analog Devices and Tata Group signed an agreement to explore building semiconductor products in India. These examples, he explained, show collaboration is necessary.