India's Unfinished Agenda: Setting Up a Semiconductor Fab
India has been striving to set up a semiconductor fabrication plant (fab) for many years, but so far, all attempts have failed. The government's 2022 Semiconductor Mission is a laudable initiative, but it is important to understand why earlier attempts failed and examine alternate approaches. One of the main reasons for the failure of earlier attempts is that India is way behind China on the fab journey. China has invested heavily in the semiconductor industry, and now has a thriving domestic fab ecosystem. India, on the other hand, has not made the same level of investment, and as a result, does not have the necessary infrastructure or talent pool to support a fab. Another challenge is that setting up a fab is a very capital-intensive undertaking. The cost of building a fab can run into billions of dollars, and it can take many years to recoup the investment. This makes it a risky proposition for companies, especially in a country like India where the market for semiconductors is