India-Taiwan Framework Puts the Dholera Partnership on a Durable Bilateral Foundation

India and Taiwan have formalised a semiconductor technical cooperation framework that provides the bilateral governance structure for the technology and talent exchanges that underpin India's emerging wafer fabrication industry. The framework, negotiated through the India-Taipei Association and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre, establishes rules and procedures for semiconductor engineer exchange programmes, process technology transfer licensing governance, joint research collaboration, and market access reciprocity for semiconductor trade. While India and Taiwan do not have formal diplomatic relations, the semiconductor cooperation framework reflects the two economies' recognition that their mutual interests in semiconductor supply chain resilience and technology development are sufficiently important to support a structured bilateral engagement that operates effectively despite the diplomatic constraints. Taiwan is India's single most important partner for the specific operational expertise required to manufacture semiconductors at commercial yields, and the framework puts this relationship on a more durable and predictable institutional footing.

Engineer Exchange Programme Structure

The engineer exchange component of the framework formalises the bilateral flows of technical personnel that the Tata-PSMC Dholera partnership already requires in practice. Taiwanese process engineers from PSMC have been stationed at Dholera to support process qualification and the initial production ramp, and Indian engineers have been trained at PSMC's Taiwan facilities in the specific process modules and equipment operation procedures used at Dholera. The framework creates a standardised visa and work authorisation mechanism for semiconductor engineer secondments between the two countries, replacing the ad hoc arrangements that have been used to date, and establishes a reciprocal access principle under which Indian engineers can be trained in Taiwan and Taiwanese engineers can work in India on terms that are administratively streamlined compared to general work visa processes. The exchange programme also covers visits to TSMC, UMC, and other Taiwan foundries for observation and benchmarking purposes, subject to appropriate IP protection protocols.

Additional Taiwanese Company Engagement Pathway

Beyond the Tata-PSMC relationship, the cooperation framework creates a pathway for other Taiwanese semiconductor companies to engage with ISM-approved Indian facilities on terms that are consistent with the bilateral framework's IP protection and technology governance provisions. Taiwanese OSAT companies including ASE, PTI, and Greatek have been evaluating India OSAT investments, and the existence of a bilateral framework that provides regulatory clarity and IP protection assurances makes these evaluations more likely to proceed to investment decisions. Taiwanese specialty materials companies and equipment companies that supply PSMC and other Taiwanese fabs are also covered by the framework's trade facilitation provisions, potentially streamlining their engagement with the Dholera supply chain beyond the Japanese and US companies that are already well-established in the India semiconductor materials space.

Mature Node Research and Joint Publications

The joint research component of the framework focuses on optimisation of mature-node semiconductor manufacturing processes, specifically the 28nm and 40nm technology nodes that are the commercial focus of India's initial wafer fabrication investments. Research topics include defect reduction strategies for the specific equipment fleet and materials supply chain configurations used in India, process integration approaches that maximise yield at the specific climatic and infrastructure conditions of Indian manufacturing locations, and reliability characterisation of India-fabricated devices across automotive and industrial operating conditions. Research outputs will be jointly published by Indian and Taiwanese researchers, contributing to the global body of semiconductor manufacturing knowledge and demonstrating the technical capability of India's emerging semiconductor research community.