India’s production push is not moving past the assembly line
India's $10 billion plan to produce semiconductors is under threat, potentially exposing a fault line in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign for greater economic self-reliance. Critics argue that the success of India's smartphone manufacturing industry is a hollow claim, created by low-end assembly-line jobs with expensive state subsidies and protectionist import duties. The government is expected to reject incentives for a proposed 28-nanometer chip unit, which would make sense only as a quick pathway to more sophisticated production. The PLI program, a $24 billion subsidy scheme, is also under scrutiny.
India's $10 billion plan to produce semiconductors is under threat, potentially exposing a fault line in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign for greater economic self-reliance. Critics argue that the success of India's smartphone manufacturing industry is a hollow claim, created by low-end assembly-line jobs with expensive state subsidies and protectionist import duties. The government is expected to reject incentives for a proposed 28-nanometer chip unit, which would make sense only as a quick pathway to more sophisticated production. The PLI program, a $24 billion subsidy scheme, is also under scrutiny.