New Delhi, March 2 -- When the government announced the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for semiconductors in 2021, with an outlay of around $10 billion, it was perhaps fitting that it was the largest of all schemes to promote hi-tech manufacturing in India announced by the government. The world over, governments love semiconductors, as a target for industrial policy.

Semiconductors lie at the core of modern life. Factories to make them can be extremely expensive-to the order of $20 billion or so for a single factory. The ultimate prize can be significant-building a scientific and technical eco-system like Silicon Valley. "The success of Silicon Valley is one that many other countries would like to replicate," Chad Bown and Dan ...