India creates incentives for Semiconductor Fabs

A step in the right direction: The Indian government is finally headed towards creating incentives for Semiconductor fabs. To really make this dream a reality the government should ensure that these SEZs also need to provide required infrastructure (uninterrupted power and other amenities). The dream will remain a dream if they cannot attract Engineering talent (NRI Engineers) back into the country. The government also needs to ensure these SEZs will attract and incentivize non-residential Indians back to their Motherland (ex-pats). For this, they need to provide good environmental and residential infrastructure. They need top class schools that would match standards with those in developed countries.

This is a step in the right direction for the overall Indian economy since this will attract foreign direct investment that will create jobs for a huge non-technical population also. Moreover, this investment is not as liquid as investing in services industry or the stock market. It is easier for MNCs to pull-back from services industry but difficult to pull back from investment in manufacturing (fabs). The semiconductor fab industry is part of a huge food chain. So this will trigger investment from other parts of the food chain. 

India is also a huge market for semiconductor goods. The government should provide special incentives for fabs that produce chips that go into products that are sold inside India.  

Next week, I will be flying to the UK to meet some of our customers. Hopefully I will find time during my flight to complete the HDMI story that is still pending completion.