India's chip-making gambit: Ambitious plans or breakthrough strategy?

India has already offered an unprecedented $10 bn as capital subsidy. Is that enough? And is self-reliance the right approach in a mega-buck game, or better to be part of a network, wonders T N Ninan

India’s bid to join the global chip-manufacturing rush is likely to be its biggest “industrial policy” gambit in a long time. Such government-directed policy intervention went out of fashion decades ago as the free trade mantra caught on. It has now made a comeback as the supply disruption of Covid-Ukraine has made every major economy conscious of strategic vulnerabilities. The nightmare scenario would be if Taiwan, which accounts for more than half the global chip supply, is attacked by China, which accounts for half the global demand.
 
Chips, or integrated circuits imprinted on silicon wafers, are at the heart