Daisy, there is no question of whether India needs or not. While considering the internal market and demands, definitely needs. In my personal opinion and considering the requirements, India definitely needs 3-5 fab units. Indian has almost all basic factors like raw materials, skilled manpower, internal requirement etc. Semiconductor fabrication units (fabs) require investments of $ 3-5 billion and a well developed ecosystem with a world class infrastructure to compete with global hubs like USA, Taiwan, China, Singapore etc.
In addition, fabs require co-location of the ecosystem to be efficient. That is, all the players like raw materials suppliers and support infrastructure should be located in the same area near the manufacturing base for easy access. Finally, there are significant technology challenges to be considered when setting up a fab. For a fab to manufacture at the latest process nodes, there is a tremendous amount of high tech knowledge collaboration that needs to take place with industry partners.
Himanshugupta, you are right, government is taking long time for taking decisions. The same thing happened for “Indian semiconductor policy 2007” also. Still it’s not implemented in its full pledge way. The same delay is happening for proposals and approvals from government side. Even though there are single window systems for investment approvals, red tapisom is a major issue.
Electronics862, I agree that these are real facts and India is enriched with all these resources and stuffs. Even though basic infra is a problem, government is ready to provide necessary amenities for those who are ready for investment. But still why nothing has happened, why? In my opinion, this is mainly due to the lack of vision by investors. In other words they had failed to foreseen the growth of internal market and requirements. Now the situations are changing and companies are coming forward for investments in semiconductor sector. All most all major companies have their own subsidiary groups in India for design, development and testing works for embedded sector. Nobody has any doubt about countries talent pool and its growing day by day.
Jbond, you are right. India has many advantages like vast internal market, talent pool, raw materials etc. Now the government has a clear cut vision and policy about the semiconductor growth too. But when we analyze “why still nothing happened?’’, we have to look negative factors too. At the same time lots of investments are happening in IT/BPO sector. I think if companies are coming forward for investment in semiconductor, majority of hurdles can be rectified and solved. The investment atmosphere is also ample good. Surly within a couple of years, India will be placed in global semiconductor map.
Wale, you are right. India had built a reputed name in software sector because of the talent pools and network connectivity. We know that the infra required for semi conductor industry is entirely different from the software industry. Initially government focused much on IT/BPO sector and now it seems the diversification of attention to other areas like Semiconductor, automobile sector etc. Government is very keen in promoting semiconductor industry and wants to be in self reliable at least for military sector.
Prabhakar, that’s a nice idea in view of recent happenings in Japan. I think ISA and government has to take initiative for marketing such facts to the investors. When compare with Japan, china or Taiwan, India is one among the safest place from natural calamities. While consider the internal market, we needed minimum 3-4 fab units and government has to assure the investors for ROI. Fabless companies are usually of medium size of, say 150 to 200 people to create $100M revenue. A significant part of this strength is in design, sales, and marketing.
Tirlapur, yes eventually it will happen. Now government is keen to promote policies, guidelines and creating necessary infra structure. We know that the infra required for semi conductor industry is entirely different from the software industry. Once, it gets ready surly companies will come forward for investment. I don’t think Indian companies will get in to any sort of tie ups with Chinese companies because of various reasons and restrictions from government side because of security issues.
Tioluwa, you are right. Everything is possible if we keep our soul and mind intact. From individual perspective its fine, but from government point of view it’s not at all positive always, especially in a democratic country. India has a substantial market in electronics equipment. According to industry estimates, India’s electronic equipment consumption is likely to grow by 7.5 % in 2011 and by 11 per cent by 2015. This gives an excellent growth opportunity for semiconductor companies. All most all major companies have their own subsidiary groups in India for design, development, assembling and testing works. Nobody has any doubt about countries talent pool and its growing day by day.
Shamala, for any industrial growth long term plans and goals are very much needed. But for certain years we had lagged and now there are clear cut visions for 2015, 2020 & 2025. It is estimated that more than 25,000 peoples are working in VLSI design and many multinationals create world class products from India. Almost all the top US, European, and Japanese SC companies have their subsidiaries in India. In semi conductor area we are lagging only in fab units.
Nemom, surely India also may be in picture within a couple of years. Even though India and China are neighbors, we cannot compare each other. India is a democratic country having 1.21 billion populations and first priority is always for citizen’s welfare rather than any industrialization. Initially we are lagged for foreign investments and now in a ramp for investment and many are in pipe line. The Chinese government has been playing an active role in creating fab-less design companies in China, they are also actively inviting Indian companies like Cosmic Circuits to set up their unit in Suzhou Technology Park.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
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Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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