India approves INR75 billion in electronics projects, expanding materials production

India's $800M bet isn't on fabs—it's on the precursors, photoresists, and etch tools that Japan and the US have monopolized for two decades. ECMS targets the throat of the supply chain. Technically, once domestic materials lines ramp in 2026, the JSR/Shin-Etsu duopoly in photoresists faces its first structural disruption. Equipment pricing anchors for Lam and AMAT across APAC will be recalibrated. On compliance, PLI local-content mandates force multinationals to localize core process parameters on Indian soil, raising overhead but triggering a "technology-for-market" JV model—structurally identical to China's solar playbook a decade ago. Competitively, foundries in Taiwan, China feel no immediate pressure, but materials suppliers face an "India premium": extra engineering headcount and certification overhead. ASML and Tokyo Electron will likely adopt a licensing-plus-local-assembly model rather than full line transfer. The 12-to-24-month wildcard isn't the capital itself—it's the demonstration effect. If the first batch clears commissioning within 18 months, it validates whether non-traditional semiconductor nations can build credible materials capacity. That signal outweighs any single fab announcement.