Private, public drivers to fuel chips growth

Telecommunications, including mobile, consumer electronics, personal computers, office automation, energy devices and medical equipment are expected to drive increase in consumption of chips in the country, according to Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh.

"As the mobile user base is poised to double over the next five years to touch about 450 million subscribers, about 80 per cent of the demand for mobile handsets will be met from domestic manufacturing," he said in his address to the India Semiconductor Association (ISA) Vision Summit 2008.

He pointed out that PC penetration touched an all-time record of 7.2 million units in calendar year 2007, as revealed by MAIT (Manufacturers Association of Information Technology).

"With convergence of technologies and increasing broadband connectivity, the need for Internet access for plethora of services and information will boost sales of PCs to 10 million per annum over the next couple of years. Indian manufacturers will play a significant role," he added.

In the energy sector, there will be great demand for renewable sources of energy, particularly solar power. "The way forward is to go for low-carbon emission norms. Though producing solar photo-voltaic cells is still cost prohibitive, there is an urgent need to bring down the cost through innovation and R&D (research and development) so that we can generate about 1,000 Mw of power from solar energy as against 190 Mw currently," Ramesh pointed out.