India, Sept. 26 -- For years, India's semiconductor story has been told through groundbreaking ceremonies, policy announcements, and investment figures. Fabs are being built, packaging lines are coming online, and the phrase "first silicon" has turned into a kind of national milestone, the moment when a wafer finally rolls off a new production line and everyone can point to it and say: it works.

But talk to the people actually building this industry, and a different picture comes through. First silicon isn't the finish line. It's closer to the starting gun. What happens after that first wafer, whether a fab can repeat that success a million times over, at consistent quality, on schedule, at a cost that makes economic sense, is where the ...