India, Sept. 17 -- "Now our chips, coming out of India's plants, have started reaching customers in the country and the world," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday, inaugurating the fifth edition of the Semicon India conference in New Delhi. Pitching India as a trusted alternative for global manufacturing, he said the country was "taking every step needed to become a preferred destination for the semiconductor industry".

The first phase of India's semiconductor programme has moved from approvals and construction to commercial production. Five of the 12 projects approved under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 1.0 now produce chips or packaged semiconductor products, and the other seven are at various stages of construction ...