New Delhi, Sept. 4 -- IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday presented the prime minister a showcase of some chips made in India-by research bodies, private firms, and university students. India has already handed out $18 billion in incentives to make chips locally. Why? Mint explains:

Semiconductor fabrication is complex. No country has singular control over the $665-billion global chip industry due to its size and the niche expertise needed. Not even Taiwan, which controls over half the world's chip supplies. The US has ruled semiconductor design through behemoths such as Intel, AMD and Nvidia. Dutch giant ASML is the only company in the world with the tech to make cutting-edge chips. Taiwan has mastered efficiencies and scale to make...