Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi trumpeted the country’s potential in technology, saying the country aims to increase its electronics sector to US$500 billion by the end of the decade.

Modi touted the country’s advantages in areas such as semiconductors as he addressed a chip conference on the outskirts of capital New Delhi on Wednesday. The country currently estimates its electronics market at about US$155 billion.

India is trying to woo more chipmakers into the country, much the same way subsidies have encouraged Apple Inc to assemble US$14 billion in iPhones in the South Asian nation. Modi’s administration has so far approved more than US$15 billion worth of semiconductor investments. These include a proposal by conglomerate Tata Group to build the country’s first major chip plant and US memory maker Micron Technology Inc’s envisioned US$2.75 billion assembly facility in Modi’s home state of Gujarat. Israel’s Tower Semiconductor Ltd is seeking to partner with billionaire Gautam Adani for a US$10 billion fabrication plant in western India.

“This is the right time to be in India,” Modi said. “In the India of the 21st century, the chips are never down.”

Semiconductors have grown into a crucial resource, especially as the geopolitical chasm between Beijing and Washington continues to widen and importers look to reduce their reliance on overseas producers in locations such as China and Taiwan. Several countries including the US, Germany, Japan and Singapore are investing aggressively to boost domestic chipmaking, ensuring supply of the components needed for technologies from artificial intelligence to electric cars.

At the same event, chip industry executives from India and abroad outlined their growth plans in the country. NXP Semiconductors NV chief executive officer Kurt Sievers said the Dutch chipmaker will invest more than US$1 billion in India over the next few years to widen its research and development efforts in the region.

  - Bloomberg