Chip Manufacturing Gets Second Wind, Centre To Invite More Applications

India plans to reopen the application process for USD 10 billion in incentives and assistance to encourage chip manufacturing, as previously announced projects are taking too long, Bloomberg News said on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

India is keeping the process open-ended, doing away with a previous 45-day requirement to submit applications, the report said.

The South Asian country now plans to allow companies to apply again and is set to accept applications until its budgeted USD 10 billion in incentives is exhausted, the report said.

The previously announced short window for applications led to just a few applicants for the scheme, including a partnership between Vedanta Resources Ltd and Taiwan's Foxconn, and a consortium that includes Tower Semiconductor Ltd, Bloomberg said.

Last September, Vedanta and Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, signed a pact with the western Indian state of Gujarat to invest USD 19.5 billion to set up semiconductor and display production plants.

India announced the incentives to help make the country a key player in the global chip supply chain.

(Reuters)