DHOLERA, India — Tata Electronics and Japan's Sumitomo Chemical confirmed a supply agreement on Tuesday to deliver critical process chemicals to Tata's semiconductor fabrication plant in Gujarat, with both firms committing to explore local production in India.

The deal covers high-purity photoresists, developers and specialty gases essential to chip patterning at advanced nodes. Tata Electronics is building the plant at Dholera in partnership with Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, and the facility is central to India's push to establish domestic chipmaking under the government's semiconductor incentive scheme.

Sumitomo Chemical, one of the world's largest suppliers of electronic materials, will initially import materials before shifting toward local manufacturing in Gujarat. The arrangement reduces India's reliance on imported chemicals, a persistent vulnerability in the semiconductor supply chain.

The agreement addresses one of the least-visible but most decisive constraints on Indian chipmaking. Fabrication requires an uninterrupted stream of ultra-pure chemicals, and analysts at Counterpoint Research have noted that materials supply, not equipment, often determines a fab's early yield performance.

The announcement follows India's broader industrial drive to localise supply chains and comes as Tata targets first silicon output from Dholera. A Tata Electronics spokesperson said the pact would support the ramp-up of the plant and help build a materials ecosystem around the site.