BANGALORE, INDIA: It is soon going to be a year since CIOL launched India's first dedicated Web site on semiconductors. Over the past year, we have noted, with great delight, the steadily growing interest and support among our readers in the Indian semiconductor industry.

Here, we present a collection of the 10 best articles for our readers from the past year, as an appreciation of their support for CIOL and for the Indian semiconductor industry.

1. Indian semicon industry: Early steps taken, miles to go!
The Indian semiconductor design industry had a turnover of US $3.2 billion in 2005 with an engineering workforce of around 75,000. It is estimated to reach US $43 billion by 2015 and provide jobs to 780,000 professionals with a CAGR of around 30 percent for this period.

2. Increasing brand value for semicon within India
S. Janakiraman, president and CEO –- R&D Services, Mindtree Consulting, and chairman, India Semiconductor Association (ISA), and  is quite bullish on the advantages of India and the opportunities provided in the Indian semiconductor industry.
 
3. Is the timing right for having fabs in India?
It has been some months since the Indian government announced the semiconductor policy. Some fabs are on the way, and lot of CEOs and other industry leaders from leading global semiconductor majors have been visiting India lately.

4. Indian fab guidelines promise exciting times for semicon, electronics
India seeks investments in ecosystem units for LCDs, OLEDs, PDPs, solar cells, photovoltaics, storage devices, advanced micro and nanotech products, etc.

5. Indian semicon policy ground breaking
These comments from Michael R. Splinter, president and CEO, Applied Materials, were enough to indicate how much the Indian semiconductor policy, announced recently by the government of India, has caught the attention of the global semicon majors.

6. Indian ecosystem will not enable faster product development cycles
The economies of scale may also not justify having a wafer fab facility to cater only to the Indian market, says Dr. H.V. Ananda.

7. India should be known for its semicon might
The semiconductor industry is poised for high growth and will make all round progress be in design or manufacturing or consumption. Issues to tackle are the rising costs and the not yet conducive infrastructure.

8. ISA-F&S: India growing almost thrice as faster as global semicon
According to ISA and Frost & Sullivan, India's 2007 annual growth in semiconductor market is nearly triple the rate at which the global semiconductor market is expanding.

9.  India ascends in embedded value chain
Indian semicon, embedded design industry to grow from $3.25bn in 2005 to $14.42bn in 2010 and $43.07bn in 2015.

10. India rapidly becoming hub for embedded designs worldwide
India design services companies are involved in embedded hardware and software design in the latest embedded market segments such as automotive infotainment, digital security and surveillance.

The semicon special for 2008 -- a collection of industry leading articles, will be online middle of next month.