Book review: An introduction to the world of chips, microprocessors & geopolitics

Why the race for chips and critical minerals is reshaping the global order

September 30, 2026

The Chip Age: The new great game is being fought over chips

This is written with a prayer. Readers are requested not to be carried away by some of the scientific jargon and terms I have used here.

Surprising and exciting events are happening across the world amidst the ongoing war in West Asia featuring Iran and the USA. Geopolitics is undergoing changes at a faster pace as rivals become friends while close allies turn against each other. More than winning battles and supremacy over the seas and oceans, what stands out are the commercial interests of the world’s leading economies.

An interesting feature of the ever-changing geopolitics is the interest generated during the official visits of heads of state to other countries. More than the volume of defence equipment and armaments sold or purchased during these visits, the point of attention is the strategic agreements signed on semiconductors, critical minerals, chip manufacturing and energy solutions.

Critical minerals are raw materials designated by governments as critical for their economies. Uranium, thorium, germanium, lanthanum, and a host of other materials fall into this category. Sources of critical minerals are limited. Countries like China, Australia, Russia, the former countries that constituted the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the US, and the UK are major sources of these minerals. An interesting point to note is that the distribution of these minerals is not proportionate. A mineral that the US requires in abundance may be available only from China and vice versa. Why was Xi Jinping, who recently paid an official visit to the US, accorded an unprecedented welcome in Washington DC, and New York by President Trump? The US needs many critical minerals that are available only from China. Trump’s MAGA dreams depend to a large extent on the critical minerals available from China.

Energy security, chips, and semiconductors all depend on these minerals, and it is important for the US to source these critical minerals at reasonable prices from the Great Dragon. Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, is also working out plans to source these minerals as the country’s Make in India and Atmanirbharata plans are dependent on critical minerals. Semiconductors, chips and AI are the in-things, and whoever establishes command over these factors alone will reach the enviable position of economic superpower.

Progress made in the fields of science and technology during the last five decades has made our world a global village, as proposed by Marshall McLuhan. The world has become so small that communication and travel have become a matter of minutes, while it used to take days and weeks to reach destinations in the past.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the expatriates from Kerala working in West Asian countries were seen bringing home big two-in-ones (radio-cum-tape recorders) during their annual holidays, and it was a basic requirement that all Gulf returnees should have such a system with them. The audio system gave way to brand-new colour TV sets and desktops as well as laptops over the years. Not anymore. The two-in-ones or music systems have disappeared from the public domain to be replaced by high-end iPhones or smartphones. This is the outcome of progress made in the field of science and technology.

When Doordarshan (the official government media) started its operations in Kerala, the standard gadgets used by the programme producers included heavy-built cameras, tripods and video recorders. A news-gathering team consisted of a reporter, a cameraman, an audio engineer and two assistants. Now there is only one reporter who functions as cameraman as well as assistant. Cameras have become as light as a hand-held smartphone, which we describe as miniaturisation. This is the fallout of the advent of microprocessors and chips, which ushered in a new kind of work culture. The AI that constitutes the modern narratives owes its “birth” to chips and microprocessors, the brain of the modern computer. Technically qualified persons understand what a chip and a microprocessor are. But the average person may find it tough to comprehend these technical terms. To help these people, Rakesh Kumar, a US-based engineering professor, has authored The Chip Age, which explains how semiconductors became the world’s most powerful resource. The book, published by Penguin, tries to “indoctrinate” the average person about what chips are, their potential, and the geopolitics behind the ongoing war for critical minerals.

The author has done a wonderful job by explaining what microprocessors and chips are. We are witnessing a blood-curdling war of nerves between superpowers for supremacy in the field of chips. The turf war between companies manufacturing chips has expanded to intercontinental battles involving the US, China, Taiwan and, to a certain extent, India. These new battles resemble incidents straight out of the James Bond movies of the 1960s vintage. The security systems deployed by the giants manufacturing chips will eclipse the hitherto unheard safety measures adopted by the superpowers to keep anti-nationals away from their doorsteps.

According to Rakesh Kumar, India and China spend more than their oil import bills to source chips. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is the world’s largest manufacturer of chips. TSMC produces more than half of all the world’s chips and more than 90 percent of the world’s advanced chips. Decades ago, I happened to read the novel Wheels, authored by Arthur Hailey, about the nuances of the automobile manufacturing companies in the USA. The manufacturing and marketing techniques employed by automobile giants have been taken over by the chip manufacturing companies, which place kill switches in Extreme Ultraviolet machines that are necessary to build the most advanced chips.

We can understand the emphasis given by Prime Minister Modi to semiconductor and chip manufacturing in his Atmanirbharata and Make in India schemes. The author says that chips are the core components of all modern electronic devices. This is the reason why we have laptops, tablets, and smartphones in place of big IBM-1401 computers. The world of telecommunication too underwent major changes. Even satellite TV channels are being phased out, and it is almost sure that they will become museum pieces in another five years. The speed of development in technology is mind-boggling, as Artificial Intelligence is taking over the role played by human beings. Rakesh Kumar is of the opinion that the one who dominates chips is likely to dominate the world. To swim with this “chip wave,” it is a must that those who are yet to be initiated into the world of chips and microprocessors read this book. Even if you may not become a chip baron, the book will take you to the geopolitics behind this greenfield sector that is going to rule tomorrow.

The Chip Age
by Rakesh Kumar
Penguin
Rs 599/-

Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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