indian conglomerates such as the tata group have also expressed interest in moving into electronics and hightech manufacturingby sankalp phartiyal and aditi shah new delhi india is offering more than 1 billion in cash to each semiconductor company that sets up manufacturing units in the country as it seeks to build on its smartphone assembly industry and strengthen its electronics supply chain two officials said prime minister narendra modis make in india drive has helped to turn india into the worlds secondbiggest mobile manufacturer after china new delhi believes it is time for chip companies to set up in the country advt the government will give cash incentives of more than 1 billion to each company which will set up chip fabrication units a senior government official told reuters declining to be named as he was not authorized to speak with media were assuring them that the government will be a buyer and there will also be mandates in the private market for companies to buy locallymade chips how to disburse the cash incentives has yet to be decided and the government has asked the industry for feedback said a second government source who also declined to be identified governments across the world are subsidizing the construction of semiconductor plants as chip shortages hobble the auto and electronics industries and highlight the worlds dependence on taiwan for supplies india also wants to establish reliable suppliers for its electronics and telecom industry to cut dependence on china following border skirmishes last year chips made locally will be designated as trusted sources and can be used in products ranging from cctv cameras to 5g equipment the first source said but the sources did not say whether particular semiconductor companies have shown interest in setting up units in india indias technology ministry did not respond to a request for comment previous attempts india has previously tried to woo semiconductor players but firms were deterred by indias wobbly infrastructure unstable power supply bureaucracy and poor planning advt the renewed government push to lure chipmakers is more likely to succeed following the success of the smartphone industry industry insiders say moreover indian conglomerates such as the tata group have also expressed interest in moving into electronics and hightech manufacturing india in december invited an expression of interest from chipmakers for setting up fabrication units in the country or for the acquisition of such manufacturing units overseas by an indian company or consortium the government extended the last date of submission for that expression of interest to endmarch from jan 31 given the level of industry demand the government source said a consortium of investors led by abu dhabibased fund next orbit ventures has shown interest in setting up in india an auto industry source said next orbit did not respond to a request for comment a shortage of chips is holding back indias auto sector just when it sees early signs of a recovery in demand after sales plunged in 2020 because of the