Thanks to investments from multinationals in India in recent years, a new study shows that India is gradually undermining China's status as a world factory as Western countries are increasingly turning to India, rather than China, for their electronics demands.

The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) signed an MoU with Qualcomm to provide wireless IC designers to stimulate innovation and accelerate commercialization as Qualcomm India is ramping up investments under a newly appointed leader.

Ahead of the general elections to be held in India in the coming two months, the Indian government required AI platforms to obtain approval in addition to providing labeling and traceability to generated content.

India approved three chip projects, two in Gujarat and one in Assam. India is expected to see more incoming investments for years to come.

In recent years, major US-based cloud companies have initiated projects to develop chips in-house. Besides outsourcing to external IC design houses, internal demand for semiconductor talent is also increasing. Many related job openings have been posted for their headquarters, in India, and Taiwan. India has become a recruiting hotspot for Microsoft, Google, and Meta.

During an extended WTO meeting, developed and developing members at WTO still could not agree on digital trade that may impact global IC design data transfers.

Following TSMC's fab in Kumamoto, Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC) expanded its global footprint in Japan and India, where it will partner with India-based Tata Electronics on a fab.

India approved three additional semiconductor manufacturing projects after Micron's ATMP facility, with two proposed by Tata, as India is on its way to building a hub for semiconductor manufacturing.

India's national space program has notched up some impressive accomplishments, such as the first landing near the south pole of the moon last year, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week announced the names of four Indian astronauts for the country's first crewed mission in 2025.

Qualcomm, the US-based semiconductor giant, is strategically shifting its focus for the next five years to amplify its presence in India.

The latest rumor indicated that Tower Semiconductor and Tata Group proposed to invest in setting up chip fabs in India's western state of Gujarat, and the state may become India's first chip ecosystem following a series of investments.

In addition to local production of computers, monitors, and servers, Acer said the company would expand after-sale services and foray into made-in-India home electronics as India has become the company's second-largest market after the US.

Gunjan Krishna, Karnataka's Commissioner of the Department of Industries and Commerce, recently visited Taiwan to attend Foxconn's 50th-anniversary celebration. Her visit came in the wake of Foxconn investing an additional US$1 billion on top of the US$1.6 billion earmarked to produce 20 million phones annually at its facility near the Kempegowda International Airport in Karnataka. Notably, Foxconn CEO Young Liu was recently honored with the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian awards in trade and industry.

Japanese automakers are playing catch-up in the electric vehicle (EV) market, trailing behind their global competitors. With Japan-made EVs struggling to gain traction in key markets such as China, the world's largest automotive market, the United States, and the expansive European Union, where the market surpasses that of the US, Japanese carmakers are setting their sights on India, the world's third-largest automotive market and home to the largest population.

Thanks to the declining lithium costs, EV makers in India are busy cutting the prices of their products, as EV suppliers are trying to gain market share ahead of the expected import duty reduction on EVs, which may open the door for the influx of foreign-made EVs.