Date: 17/10/2011

India semiconductor fab is key, as per Draft National Telecom Policy- 2011

$35 tablet computer, draft National Policy on Electronics, and is followed by more important Draft National Telecom Policy- 2011 points out that India is heading for a strong and committed local electronics design and manufacturing. This is a great move by the Union Government.

Now it is clear, come what-may India will have successful semiconductor fab. It should not be a just fab, but a research and manufacturing unit, which will grow with the time.

Below are the points from Draft National Telecom Policy- 2011 worth taking note by Indian electronics and semiconductor industry includes:

Important objectives of the policy relevant to Indian electronics and semiconductor industry:

Promote indigenous R&D, innovation and manufacturing that serve domestic and foreign markets.

Promote the domestic production of telecommunication equipment to meet 80% Indian telecom sector demand through domestic manufacturing with a value addition of 65% by the year 2020.

Provide preferential market access for domestically manufactured telecommunication products including mobile devices, SIM cards with enhanced features etc. with special emphasis on Indian products for which IPRs reside in India to address strategic and security concerns of the Government, consistent with international commitments.

Encourage adoption of green policy in telecom and incentivize use of renewable resources for sustainability.

Strategies proposed in the policy relevant to Indian electronics and semiconductor industry:

To spur the domestic telecom equipment manufacturing segment to meet the indigenous demands for becoming self-reliant in telecom/ICT equipment design and manufacturing.

To encourage indigenous manufacturing of cost effective customer end terminals and devices including mobile devices, SIM cards with enhanced features etc.

To ensure focused indigenous development in the telecom sector, efforts would be concentrated towards a definite policy direction by creating a suitable road-map to align technology, demand, standards and regulations, after considered evaluation of candidate technologies and the emerging trends.
To create fund to promote indigenous R&D, IPR creation, entrepreneurship, manufacturing, commercialising and deployment of state-of-the-art telecom products and services.

To ensure security in an increasingly insecure cyber space, indigenously manufactured multi-functional SIM cards with indigenously designed chips incorporating specific laid down standards are considered critical. The whole electronics eco-system for this and other purposes, starting from the wafer fab needs to be built and hence is viewed as a key policy objective and outcome.

To recognize the role of new technologies in furthering public welfare and enhanced customer choices through affordable access and efficient service delivery. The emergence of new service formats such as Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications (e.g. remotely operated irrigation pumps, smart grid etc.) represent tremendous opportunities, especially as their roll-out becomes more widespread.