Data may or may not be ‘the new oil,’ but advanced microchips for digital devices are in geopolitical focus as the Indo-Pacific witnesses a contest of glares between China and the West over Taiwan, whose grip on the manufacture of these prized inputs has pushed both sides into a race for supply security. Globally, cutting-edge semiconductors are seen to underlie the current path of tech evolution. India’s effort to break into this field has faced setbacks like a proposed Foxconn-Vedanta venture coming apart, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has signalled the government’s determination. At the Semicon India 2023 conclave held...