Semicon to get shot in arm

Increase in domestic consumption of electronic items to boost industry

The semiconductor industry in India is expected to get a boost due to the increase in the domestic consumption of electronics hardware. The demand for electronics hardware in India is set to grow from $45 billion (about Rs 2,25,000 crore) in 2009 to $400 billion ( Rs 20,00,000 crore) by 2020, according to industry estimates.

“Electronic system, design and manufacturing can propel the country towards global leadership. India has been the leader in business process and IT outsourcing. Time has come to demonstrate our leadership position by building our own capabilities in integrated circuit (IC) design, IC fabrication and, design and manufacturing of electronics products,” said Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Information Technology (DIT), Government of India.

 

According to Department of Information Technology, over $2 billion worth of chip designs are being exported from India which is developed by nearly 20,000 Indian professionals.

“We export semiconductor design to global companies and therefore we have a great opportunity to now focus on electronics hardware manufacturing. Another important thing is that because of a vast talent pool, most semiconductor fabricating companies have set up their R&D and design centres in India,” added Kumar.

The DIT is in the process of formulating several major initiatives to build India as a major global producer of electronic products to meet both domestic and export demands. The recommendation in the new Special Investment Package scheme (SIPS) include setting up an electronic development fund to promote innovation, R&D, intellectual property and manufacturing in electronics sector.

It has also recommended introducing new courses in electronic manufacturing so that adequate human resources are available for hardware manufacturing industry.

According to N Seshagiri, founder director general, NIC, Government of India, nano technology can be another growth driver for the electronics industry in the country.

“Nanotechnology is alre-ady helping many sectors including biotech, health-care and energy. But when it comes to electronics and IT, it is lagging behind in exploiting nanotechnology,” Seshagiri added.

By 2013, the market size for nanotechnology-enabled products will be around $1.6 trillion. Nanodevices and subsystems would make up 10 per cent of the industry by then.