Date: 22/02/2011

India's semiconductor industry alerted about disruptive nano tech

At the India Semiconductor Association's annual vision summit 2011, the veteran IT industry expert Dr. N. Seshagiri, Founder Director General, NIC, Government of India has alerted Indian semiconductor industry entrepreneurs to be prepared for the disruptive technologies based on nano technology which is expected in this decade most probably with in 4/5 years. He praised the industry saying "Indian industry time and again has demonstrated that it can meet any challenge and convert them into an opportunity". He felt software people in India have a lot of money and that can be invested in the hardware sector also.

When this writer asked S D Shibulal, COO, Infosys, on what stops Infosys from getting into hardware manufacturing. He said he believes in 'never say never' to anything. But their focus now is only on software.

Government is cautiously weighing all option to take right initiatives in electronics hardware. Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary in the Department of Information Technology said Government initiatives are aimed not only in high end semiconductor fabs but around the whole value chain, which include 100s types components and devices required for electronics hardware manufacturing. He said the hardware goal would be achieved in close partnership between Government, industry, academia and other stakeholders. He quotes "The need is to learn from best practices established elsewhere and build on our own strengths", He said Government is also planning to set up an electronics development fund to promote innovation, research and development and intellectual property. Kumar also alerted the Indian entrepreneurs to get away from confidence deficit factor.

Few stats on India's hardware and semiconductor industry:
1. Electronic hardware market in India is estimated to grow from US$45 billion in 2009 to US$ 400 billion by 2020.
2. US$2 billion worth of chip designs are being exported from India developed by nearly 20,000 Indian professionals.
3. The total available market revenues in India for semiconductor devices in 2009 is $2.6 billion. It is estimated that the total available market revenues in India for semiconductor devices to reach $4.8 billion by the year 2011.

Finally here is an important message from our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: "Electronics can be a major contributor in ensuring inclusive growth by extending access, quality and affordability; thus the electronic systems design and manufacturing (ESDM) industry has a major role in creating awareness and drive technology vision towards making a difference to the lives of millions of people."
ee HeraldFrom L to R, Pradeep Dutta of Synopsys, Poornima Shenoy of ISA, Dr. N. Seshagiri, Dr. Bobby Mitra of TI, Rt. Hon. Patricia Hewitt of India UK business council, Dr. Ajay Kumar.