Semiconductors & Critical Technologies

Trusted Partners in a Contested Technology Landscape

The January 2026 Modi-Merz Joint Statement established two landmark frameworks: a Joint Declaration of Intent on a Semiconductor Ecosystem Partnership and a JDoI on Critical Minerals Cooperation. Both leaders explicitly acknowledged the increasing “weaponisation and control of critical technologies globally” and agreed on the need for trusted partners to work closely in response.

India’s $10 billion semiconductor mission is attracting global investment — Tata and PSMC are building fabrication plants, and the design ecosystem is expanding rapidly. Germany’s semiconductor industry, led by Infineon, Bosch, and the Fraunhofer ecosystem, commands strength in automotive and industrial chips but needs supply chain resilience beyond its current China dependencies. The critical minerals dimension adds urgency: India’s reserves of rare earths and lithium, combined with Germany’s processing expertise, create a natural partnership across exploration, R&D, value addition, and recycling.

The question is not whether the partnership makes strategic sense — it does. The question is where in the value chain the two countries can create mutual advantage fast enough to matter in a technology race that waits for no one.

Research Agenda

• Question 1 Where in the semiconductor value chain — design, fabrication, ATMP, or equipment — can India and Germany build complementary positions rather than competing with established players in Taiwan, South Korea, and the US?
• Question 2 How should the Critical Minerals Cooperation JDoI be operationalised to secure German access to Indian rare earth and lithium reserves, and what investment frameworks would accelerate joint exploration and processing?
• Question 3 How does the EU Chips Act interact with India’s Semiconductor Mission in practice — do the incentive structures complement each other or create competitive tensions for the same investment flows?
• Question 4 What role should German automotive and industrial companies (Infineon, Bosch, Continental) play in anchoring India’s semiconductor ecosystem through design partnerships, test facilities, and application-specific collaboration?

Tagged Publications

• White Paper “The Semiconductor Ecosystem Partnership: Mapping Complementarities in the India-Germany Chip Value Chain”
• Policy Brief “Critical Minerals, Trusted Supply Chains: An Action Plan for Indo-German Cooperation”
• Commentary “India’s Chip Ambitions Meet German Engineering: Where the Partnership Gets Real”
• Data Point Dashboard indicators: India semiconductor FDI pipeline, German company engagement in India’s chip ecosystem, critical mineral trade flows

Linked Events

• Policy Dialogue “From JDoI to Joint Ventures: Operationalising the Semiconductor Partnership” — with participants from both governments’ focal points, Infineon/Bosch strategy leads, and India Semiconductor Mission officials
• Boardroom “Critical Minerals Strategy for German Industry” — invite-only for procurement and strategy leads from German manufacturers dependent on rare earth inputs

Research Fellow