CIOL: How do you see India playing a role in the progress of the global semiconductor industry?
Dr. Bobby Mitra: India will play a key role in the progress of the global semiconductor industry. India is already known as a design powerhouse for end equipment using semiconductor solutions. Now, we see increased OEM design and manufacturing activities in India.
The emergence of a market in India for industrial electronics, consumer applications, wireless handsets and wireless infrastructure, medical applications, automotive etc., are key vectors for the future. We are also witnessing an increased innovation by customers in these areas. It is also very good to see the government's policies recognizing the semiconductor market opportunity in India.
CIOL: What are the key challenges facing the industry?
BM: There are some challenges that confront companies seeking to expand their semiconductor activities in India. With demand increasing substantially, India will need to have the support infrastructure in terms of the cycle time for imports/exports, and tax structures.
Overall, the rapid growth in electronics in India will have a positive impact on the semiconductor consumption in the country. This, coupled with the increased electronic manufacturing activities also happening in India, will be a growing trend in the future.
CIOL: What are the key growth drivers for the semicon industry in general and how does it compare to those in India?
BM: Certainly, video applications -- both wired and wireless -- will be the key growth driver in the future. We also see applications in areas such as video surveillance and security, IP set-top box, portable media players, etc., driving this growth.
Another key driver for growth is high-performance analog. Analog semiconductors find its way into every electronic system, whether it be power management solutions, data converters, amplifiers, interface solutions, etc. Analog is a big semiconductor growth engine for the electronics market.
We see similar trends in India as well. In particular, semiconductor solutions for industrial electronics, medical, etc., are likely to grow rapidly. The other key growth areas in India are wireless and entertainment solutions.
CIOL: How would changes in process geometries enable further developments in India?
BM: India should continue to focus on all aspects of semiconductor design -- and build deep competencies. Having sound depth is critical to our future success -- whether it is in design techniques, process technologies, EDA etc. Most importantly, everything we do must be anchored on customer centricity.
Designers must focus on building a deep understanding of their customer careabouts. These are two vectors -- deep domain competency and customer centricity -- that would enable increased success in the future.
