India’s Chip Boom: $21B Investments, 40,000 Jobs, and a New Era for Electronics

• Chinmay
• June 3, 2025
• Electronics, India, News, Semiconductor Industry
• 5G telecom chips India, AI chips India, ATMP OSAT India, chip industry job creation, chip packaging jobs India, domestic chip production India, Electronics manufacturing India, HCL Foxconn semiconductor, India semiconductor investments, Indian Semiconductor Ecosystem, Micron Sanand plant, Tata Electronics Dholera
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India’s semiconductor ambitions are no longer a distant dream — they’re materializing, one chip at a time. With over $21 billion committed across a dozen semiconductor assembly and packaging projects, the country is laying down serious silicon roots. But beyond the cleanrooms and capital, this transformation is creating tens of thousands of jobs and opening up a new chapter for India’s electronics industry.

At the center of this movement are ATMP (Assembly, Testing, Marking, and Packaging) and OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) units — the final mile of chipmaking before devices reach end-users. These processes contribute up to 15% of a chip’s value and are now becoming India’s launchpad into the global semiconductor map.

Why Packaging Is the First Step in India’s Chip Journey

Unlike full-scale chip fabrication — an extremely complex and capital-heavy endeavor — ATMP/OSAT units are faster to set up and less risky. According to Ashok Chandak, President of IESA and SEMI India, “These units create the pull factor for future fabs. They attract ecosystem players, build talent pipelines, and establish India’s credibility.”

A dozen such projects are currently in the pipeline, expected to roll out 91 million chips per day in the coming years. Leading the charge:

• Tata Electronics: A $11B fab in Dholera (Gujarat) with 50,000 wafers/month capacity by 2027.
• Micron Technology: $2.75B ATMP unit in Sanand, launching production by end of 2025.
• Tata Semicon ATMP in Assam: Processing 48 million chips per day.
• HCL-Foxconn, CG Power, Kaynes Tech: State-supported OSAT/ATMP facilities across India.

Who Will Buy These Chips?

Currently, India imports $40B worth of chips annually, a number projected to rise to $103B by 2030. At least 20% of that demand will soon be met domestically, driven by automotive, EV, telecom, and consumer electronics sectors. Companies like Dixon, Syrma SGS, and SFO Technologies — which previously imported chips — are now expected to switch to locally packaged alternatives.

But as industry veterans point out, packaging alone isn’t enough. “We’re still service providers unless we have product companies that control design and demand,” said Satya Gupta, President of the VLSI Society of India.

The Talent Engine Behind the Chip Engine

While the tech may be futuristic, the job creation is very real — and very present.

• Direct Jobs: 35,000–40,000
• Indirect Jobs: Over 10x that number
• Top Talent: Being hired from global majors like Intel

For advanced fabrication units like Tata’s fab in Assam, India is tapping into international partnerships (Purdue University, AMD, Micron, Lam Research) and training programs with IITs and IISc to upskill engineers in photolithography, plasma etching, and chemical-mechanical planarization.

Anchoring the Ecosystem with Real Customers

What sets these projects apart from past ambitions is that many already have anchor customers:

• Kaynes Tech has a 5-year agreement with Alpha & Omega Semiconductor (USA), with 60% of Phase 1 output pre-booked.
• Japanese and Malaysian buyers are lining up for Kaynes’ power modules and MOSFETs.
• HCL-Foxconn’s OSAT plant will serve the growing display chip demand for consumer electronics.

These guaranteed offtakes will de-risk operations and help India slowly build toward advanced packaging and eventually full-scale fabs.

India’s Global Ambition: Catch Up, Then Compete

Right now, Taiwan controls 40% and Malaysia 14% of the global OSAT market. India’s ambition? Claim 25% of the OSAT pie within a decade. While most chips will still be designed and fabricated abroad, India is positioning itself as an indispensable link in the global value chain — and eventually, as a hub for homegrown design, demand, and product innovation.

As Sanjiv Narayan of Syrma SGS puts it:

“We have to walk before we can run. But the direction is right — and the momentum is real.”