Dutch semiconductor equipment giant ASML has officially commenced operations in India, linking its long-term expansion roadmap to the execution of Tata Electronics’ upcoming mega-fab and the central government’s semiconductor ambitions.
Speaking on the sidelines of SEMICON India, Lin Kiat Yap, Executive Vice President and Head of Customer Support at ASML, confirmed that the company has initiated operations on the ground. ASML will begin by recruiting an initial cohort of 20 to 30 young engineering graduates to establish customer support and field capabilities.
Yap emphasized that further scale will depend directly on local momentum: “We will see how fast it scales. It really depends on the ambitions of India, and it really depends on the ambitions of Tata.” He added that proving success with Tata is critical to anchoring the broader ecosystem, noting, “When people see Tata being a success, I think people will start to spend a little bit more time, be a little bit more focused in India and see the potential opportunities.”
Tata Electronics is building India’s first commercial 300mm wafer fabrication plant in Dholera, Gujarat, with a planned monthly capacity of 50,000 wafers. The facility is scheduled to go online in 2028. To support high-yield production, Tata is developing 363 vendor parks to house an estimated 450 supply chain partners.
Allan Wayne, ASML’s Chief Strategic Sourcing and Procurement Officer, highlighted India’s goal to fulfill 15% to 25% of its domestic chip demand locally by 2032, rising to 35% to 50% by 2035. Meeting those targets will require roughly a dozen high-capacity fabs across the country.
Wayne pointed to supportive government policies, including the Semicon 2.0 scheme with an incentive outlay of approximately ₹1.27 lakh crore ($13.5 billion), as a major confidence driver. While ASML has not committed to domestic equipment manufacturing right away, Wayne noted the company could eventually evaluate local equipment assembly if domestic fab capacity continues to scale on schedule.
