India courts global chipmakers as Semicon conference opens in Delhi

The three-day event will bring together more than 300 global companies, 600 exhibitors and 150 speakers as India seeks investment and partnerships to expand its semiconductor industry

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch a charm offensive for global investors Thursday as he inaugurates a massive semiconductor conference in New Delhi, marking India’s audacious bid to win a seat at the chip-making table.

Modi will use the three-day Semicon event to display India’s fledgling chip and electronics industry that barely existed a decade ago. He’s courting global semiconductor producers, potential partners and customers for India’s homegrown contenders, as well as equipment makers and parts suppliers all seeking to ride the artificial intelligence investment wave.

“Semicon in New Delhi is Modi’s way of signaling that India has a long-term commitment to growing the chip industry,” said Pranay Kotasthane, deputy director of Bangalore-based think tank Takshashila Institution. “That’s his message to global investors.”

The stakes are high for the planet’s most populous country and an economy that’s outpaced much of the world for years. Modi is trying to prove the nation has what it takes to become a hub in higher value-added industries such as chips, all part of a bid to further modernise the economy and keep it humming by bolstering exports. Expanding manufacturing is crucial for Modi’s vision of moving more workers from farms into better-paying jobs.