Although India's semiconductor manufacturing plans are relatively new, the country has been a strong player in the chip design engineering services sector. One of the key Indian companies active in this field is L&T Technology Services (LTTS). Recently, DIGITIMES Asia had an exclusive conversation with the company's CEO and MD, Amit Chadha, to gather insights into their plans and market outlook.

As the global manufacturing industry experiences diversification rarely seen in previous decades, Samsung Electronics has spearheaded the relocation wave. According to DIGITIMES Research, the significant investment by Samsung in Vietnam has created a reciprocal relationship between the company and local governments, representing a huge difference in Samsung's investments in Vietnam and India.

Despite India's eagerness to build a self-reliant semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem and an abundance of engineers in the IC design sector, India lacks the required talents to have a functioning IC manufacturing business and may have to recruit them from abroad, at least initially.

Apple is expected to open its long-awaited first flagship store in India, marking Apple's efforts to expand in the world's second-largest smartphone market as the global smartphone market is plateauing.

India is looking to amend its incentive scheme for IT hardware to encourage investments in manufacturing laptops and tablets in India. However, manufacturers argue against the fresh investment clause amid a declining PC market.

Xiaomi, which has maintained its top position in India's smartphone market for four years, lost to its arch-rival Samsung Electronics in the last quarter of 2022, and Xiaomi is looking to mimic Samsung's strategy to regain ground in the world's second-largest smartphone market.

In a major shift towards sustainable transportation, the penetration of commercial electric vehicles (EVs) has as reached as much as 50 percent in some of the major Indian metropolitan cities, according to Euler Motors, a leading cargo EV maker in the country.

Amid Apple suppliers' increasing investments in India, Foxconn is reportedly to make AirPods in its planned facility in the southern state of Telangana, making it the first time for both Foxconn and India to manufacture the premium wireless earphones for Apple.

According to official estimates, India's electronics production and exports are both increasing rapidly. However, India may still miss its target for electronics production of US$300 billion unless India speeds up its development in the semiconductor ecosystem.

Scooter use is surging as people grow more interested in electro-mobility and micro-mobility. Coming along with electric micro-mobility is an increasing appreciation of the flexibility and ease of driving a scooter. For those still weighing the pros and cons between a charge-at-home scooter and a battery-swapping bike, Indian startup Brisk EV is bringing a combined battery solution to the market.

In order to attract attention, economics would always say we are living on the "edge of unknown." As for the things that we should pay attention to, they include inflation, the threat of war, post-pandemic situations, so on and so forth. They all sound pretty much the same. But when we really listen carefully, we can still find some differences that could inspire us.

India is reportedly planning to force smartphone manufacturers to allow users to remove pre-installed apps and require prior checks by regulators before releasing system updates of major mobile operating systems, which could affect manufacturers operating with low margins and extend system update release timelines.

India has approved another tranche of incentives to companies for their investments in manufacturing smartphones in India. However, Samsung Electronics is still struggling to collect financial subsidies.

Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) has stepped up efforts to kickstart its EV business and transform its existing EMS, with India seen to play a key role in both, according to market sources.

India has found lithium reserves in the northern part of the country. An auction is expected to begin before further extraction as India is looking to build a self-reliant EV ecosystem and lessen its dependence on resource imports.