Commentary: Embrace chips, India, and skip those tech dreams

MASTERING LEGACY CHIPS

It’s worrying, therefore, that officials are claiming that “we already have a clear road map to enable companies to manufacture 7nm and above chips within the next five to seven years.” Even if this timeline is possible, it may not be the right choice. 

There is a space on the global supply chain that India can and will fill: Mature designs that provide security and support a wider manufacturing ecosystem. The government shouldn’t let high-end dreams divert its attention or resources from what’s actually needed.

The private sector has already spoken on this subject. Attempts to lure the most advanced chipmakers – TSMC or Intel – to India have not worked. 

Partly that’s because the government has less cash to hand out, and its subsidy system is designed to share risk with companies and not minimise it. But it’s also because there are a limited number of top-of-the-line plants that can be built at any time, and C-suites think they’re better located elsewhere.

If India wants to move up the value chain, it needs to show it has mastered the basics. There’s hard work to be done first: Demonstrating the scale at which legacy chips can be made here, building up an experienced and reliable workforce, developing the innovation, design, and testing hubs that will attract the pickiest manufacturers. That’s honest work, and if it succeeds, it will be enough to be proud of. 

India doesn’t need to stop dreaming about high-end semiconductors. It just shouldn’t chase them.

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