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80 PCB007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2023 in India 1 . HP also announced its intention to begin high-volume manufacturing of serv- ers in India, with the aim of producing $1 bil- lion worth of servers in the first five years of operation 3,4 . But perhaps the most interesting development came from Micron Technolo- gy's announcement to build a $2.75 billion fac- tory to assemble, package, and test semicon- ductor chips in India 5,6 . While this deal has made headlines as a key technological break- through for India's electronics manufacturing industry, critics point out that the assembly, packaging and testing of chips is a relatively smaller piece of the semiconductor market pie. 7-10 e semiconductor sup- ply chain generally entails designing the chip, slicing silicon wafers into usable chips, layering, and assembling the chips into packages, before finally integrating the chips onto electronics to cre- ate end products for cus- tomers. Creating the actual silicon chip requires the highest level of advanced manufacturing, which is why it is the most lucra- tive part of the supply chain (roughly 83% of the market share) 11 . Because of this, earlier this year, Foxconn and Vedanta (Indian min- ing conglomerate) agreed on a joint venture 12 to begin manufacturing silicon chips in India, with Foxconn agreeing to invest $19.5 billion to set up a chip manufacturing plant. But as of July 2023, Foxconn has pulled out of the deal, leaving Vedanta to find another investment partner to fulfill the country's manufacturing goals. While chip manufacturing is undeniably crit- ical, it is just one part of the global electron- ics landscape. And while the Foxconn-Vedanta fallout may seem unpromising at first blush, there are signs of potential for other manufac- turing sectors in India, which could pay divi- dends for the United States and other trade partners. For example, unlike semiconductor assembly, PCB assembly yields a much larger profit margin than manufacturing. For this rea- son, in 2019 the Indian government passed a series of financial schemes that provide fiscal support for manufacturing and assembly of electronic components (including PCBs). e first scheme (PLI for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing) gives companies financial sup- port for PCB manufacturing, assembly, and testing by offering a yearly incentive of 4–6% on incremental sales (for up to five years). e scheme also applies to the manufac- turing and assembly of mobile phones and other specified electronic com- ponents in India 2,13-18 . And the results from this scheme are showing. In 2022, Apple produced more than 6.5 million of its 200 million iPhones in India, with a target of 10 million by the end of 2023 19 . In July of this year, Tata (India's largest conglomerate) closed a deal to become India's first iPhone maker— the first time a local company would move into the assembly of iPhones. 20 is could be good news for the United States, if the goal is to diversify where con- sumer electronics assembly is happening. It is also promising news for India, since (unlike chip assembly) the fiscal gains of electronics assembly outweigh those of manufacturing. While the full impact of these schemes is yet to be seen for the PCB sector, it is starting to be felt by the mobile industry and beyond. e Land of Many Wonders may be undergo- ing a manufacturing awakening. It has already begun with semiconductor assembly and test- ing, but it might possibly just reach the global PCB market next. PCB007 While chip manufacturing is undeniably critical, it is just one part of the global electronics landscape.