Shashank Mattoo
Shashank Mattoo

@MattooShashank

9 Tweets Mar 04, 2023
My exclusive today: Foxconn and the Taiwanese government mulling plans to skill Indian workers for the semiconductor industry
If plan succeeds, ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ could become major force in global chip wars
A short๐Ÿงต(1/8)
livemint.com
(2/8)
The basics: Semiconductors (or chips) make the world go around
Used in everyday electronic devices like phones as well as cutting-edge military equipment
Currently, ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ is 100% import dependent for these vital chips & spends $24 bn/yr buying them from๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ & Taiwan
(3/8)
This can be a major threat as ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ found out in 2021
Shortage in chip production due to COVID-19 pandemic brought India's car industry to its knees
In response, ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ's govt. unveiled the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to attract chipmakers
outlookindia.com
(4/8)
Global chips market is ~$600 billion & expected to๐Ÿ“ˆto ~$1.4 trillion by 2029;๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ wants a piece of that
As ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ is a major market for electronics, numerous global chipmakers interested in setting up shop here
Taiwan's Foxconn, which makes Apple's iPhone, is among them
(5/8)
Foxconn, which is the world's largest electronics manufacturer, announced plans to tie up w. ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ mining firm Vedanta to set up chip fabrication facility in Gujarat
But there's a problem: ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ lacks the large number of specialist engineers needed to manufacture those chips
(6/8)
That's where my story comes in: Taiwan's govt is considering a collab w. Foxconn
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ runs Taiwan Education Centres in India that teach Mandarin
The plan is to use these TECs to provide ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ engineers language skills & specialised chipmaking techniques
(7/8)
Why That Matters
-World has major shortage of skilled semiconductor engineers
-๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ has 90k vacancies, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ has 350-400k & even๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ needs 34k engineers
If ๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ's plan work, ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ can use its massive pool of technical talent to build up domestic chip industry & meet foreign needs
(8/8)
Added Mandarin language skills will give ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ engineers an edge in working w. Taiwanese companies
This will bring major econ. benefits, thousands of jobs & will also make ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ a major force in the global chip wars
Many thanks to @gulveenaulakh_ , the co-author on this story

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