Can India build a world-leading computer chip industry from scratch?

As part of India’s transformation into a leading global economy, prime minister Narendra Modi has set a target for the nation to become one of the world’s five biggest computer chip manufacturers by 2029, from a base of almost nothing. With the rise of artificial intelligence and unstable geopolitics creating a global scramble to build domestic chip factories, how likely is it that India can compete?

Rakesh Kumar at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign says there are two main drivers…