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India puts $20B behind chips and phones
India approved $19.7 billion in chip and smartphone incentives as Narendra Modi pushes for an Indian mobile brand.
Image: TNW
India expands its manufacturing push
India has approved 1.9 trillion rupees ($19.7 billion) in combined incentives for domestic semiconductor and smartphone production, marking a major expansion of its electronics strategy.
The cabinet cleared 1.28 trillion rupees ($13.3 billion) for semiconductors and 625 billion rupees ($6.5 billion) for mobile phone manufacturing on Wednesday, according to TNW.
Modi wants an Indian mobile brand
A key political goal is building a homegrown phone maker that can compete in a market heavily influenced by Chinese brands.
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“The Prime Minister has given us clear guidance that we must create an Indian mobile brand,” Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters in New Delhi.
The semiconductor package covers:
- chip design
- machine fabrication
- research and development
- talent creation
Building on the 2021 chip plan
The new programme follows India’s $10 billion initiative from 2021, which offered to cover half the cost of setting up semiconductor projects. That effort helped attract Micron Technology and the Tata Group to Gujarat.
India’s first chip production has already begun in Gujarat, and the state has approved six semiconductor projects worth a combined $14.7 billion.
Part of a wider global race
India’s move echoes the $52 billion US CHIPS and Science Act, though TNW notes that India remains at an earlier stage, with only a handful of major projects underway.
Governments are trying to build more self-sufficient chip industries as demand rises across AI, smartphones, cars, and appliances. China continues to back its semiconductor sector through large state-supported investment vehicles.
India is betting that its engineering talent, design capabilities, and subsidies can pull in more chipmakers. It is following a similar approach to the one it used to bring Apple iPhone assembly into the country.
Smartphones are central to the plan
That earlier manufacturing push has already delivered scale. Apple now assembles 25% of its iPhones in India, aided by production-linked subsidies introduced during the pandemic.
The new smartphone incentives are also meant to support Indian companies making mobile devices, in a market still dominated by Chinese brands.
TNW says India’s broader drive for technological self-reliance has accelerated this year after the US Anthropic export ban highlighted the risks of relying on foreign infrastructure. The combined $20 billion commitment ties together a strategy that stretches from raw silicon to consumer devices to sovereign AI.
Computing Editor
Tomas lives in the terminal. He covers chips, laptops, and operating systems with a focus on performance and efficiency. He reads kernel changelogs the way other people read fiction, and he's always on the hunt for the perfect mechanical keyboard switch. If it processes data, Tomas has an opinion on it.
via TNW
