India is broadening its technology strategy from attracting chip factories to building semiconductor equipment, materials, AI capabilities, supply chains and trade partnerships as it seeks a larger role in global electronics.
Applied Materials India eyes larger role in global chip equipment development
Applied Materials India is expanding beyond R&D support toward developing semiconductor equipment products in Bengaluru, aiming for global product ownership. The company is building 300mm validation capabilities, strengthening local suppliers, and investing in engineering infrastructure, while focusing on realistic semiconductor priorities such as mature nodes, packaging and ecosystem development.
India trims chip subsidies but widens their reach as it courts electronics supply chain away from China
India approved two large incentive packages on July 15 that together recast how New Delhi subsidizes electronics manufacturing: learner-per-project chip subsidies spread across a much broader slice of the value chain, paired with a new smartphone scheme designed to reward domestic components and homegrown brands rather than assembly alone. The twin moves signal a shift from simply attracting fabs and iPhone assembly toward deepening local value addition, as India tries to pull more of the global electronics supply chain away from China.
India opens first CMP pad technology hub in Hyderabad
India's first Chemical Mechanical Polishing pad technology hub could help reshape semiconductor supply chains far beyond the country. The new Hyderabad facility aims to build local chipmaking capabilities, reduce dependence on imports, and deepen India's role in a sector that supports electronics production worldwide, from phones to data centers.
Google pushes India from AI demos to daily deployment, focusing on startups, skilling, and agent safety
Google used its I/O Connect India 2026 developer event in Bengaluru on July 14 to reframe its India strategy around getting artificial intelligence into everyday use, unveiling a bundle of education, startup, enterprise, and security initiatives aimed at helping the country build AI "for India, with India." The announcements signal that the company is competing less on model size than on distribution — skilling, local-language reach, and on-shore processing — as rivals also pour capital into the market.
India-UK trade pact takes effect, setting a template that reaches well beyond tariffs
The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between India and the UK came into force on July 15, 2026. While the immediate headlines belong to cheaper Scotch and luxury cars, the deal's more consequential legacy may be structural: it is the first Indian trade treaty to write labour, environment, gender, and anti-corruption obligations directly into the treaty text—a shift trade watchers describe as the "source code" for the country's future agreements.
India fines HP India US$1.25 million over toner-cartridge cartel, part of a wider INR142 crore penalty
India's antitrust regulator has penalized HP India and 16 of its resellers for rigging bids in the sale of printer consumables, in one of two orders that together impose the country's largest cartel penalty yet on a single technology vendor.
Article edited by Jack Wu
