India chip manufacturing push exposes production-test skills gap, NI says

India’s semiconductor expansion reveals a critical shortage of experienced test engineers, exposing systemic gaps in high-end manufacturing capabilities. This will force global supply chains to reconfigure, particularly impacting upstream test equipment and software demand. NI’s warning signals that inexperienced engineers will delay new facility ramp-up, prolonging time-to-market. From a compliance perspective, India’s inability to quickly address talent gaps will heighten supply chain risks, especially amid intensifying U.S.-China tech rivalry. Competitors like TSMC and Samsung may accelerate test service expansion in Southeast Asia to capture market share. Over the next 12–24 months, without substantial talent development initiatives, India’s semiconductor strategy could fall into a cycle of underutilized capacity and escalating costs.