Chip dreams: As Taipei takes a short step forward, Delhi assures a smooth long road

THAT TAIWAN and India ought to be strategic partners, especially in chip fabrication, is a steady refrain in Taipei City and New Delhi. Taiwan is an undisputed world leader and India is keen to make late inroads in this domain. On the ground, however, the partnership faces challenges even as there’s a shared sense of strategic alignment.

Despite a strong nudge by former President Tsai Ing-wen to Taiwan’s chip fabrication giants to consider investing in India, there’s only one company that has stepped up — Hsinchu-based Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp or PSMC, one of Taiwan’s smaller chipmakers that fabricates legacy logic and memory chips.