|
Win Some, Lose Some
The Indian market is said to be able to support three large foundries costing above Rs 132 crore ($3 bn) each. SemIndia and NANO-TECH Silicon India Pvt Ltd (NSTI) are already set up near Hyderabad. Within a week of the Policy announcement, Hindustan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (HSMC) announced $4 bn investment of setting up two chip manufacturing units.
India Electronics Manufacturing Company (IEMC) is also likely to join the bandwagon. Apart from this, Intel, Qualcomm and others have been waiting for the Policy to be released before announcing their India investment plans.
The Policy will not only trigger off big-ticket investments in India, but will also lead to significant job creation in the hardware industry. According to estimates, this could create 90 lakh jobs in India over the next decade.
On the other hand, the delay in drafting an effective policy has already affected FDI flows. Last year, India lost out to Israel and Vietnam when chip major Intel decided on these two locations to set up its wafer fabrication and assembly and testing plants. Secondly, India's new policy is not too lucrative for global players as the incentive package is dull when compared to countries with a manufacturing prowess.
India is already late in joining the race of the big boys and it is up against some stiff competition from other countries. One cannot expect India to score big brownie points immediately, if the government fails to complement the policy with a sound follow up.
Industry reactions:
Rajendra Khare, chairman, ISA - “So far India was going only for low hanging fruits. Now, we can enter the league of the big boys' game and reach out for real revenues.” - Rajeev Mehtani, VP & MD, NXP Semiconductors India – “The policy is not a very generous one. However, as the Indian consumption patterns are expected to rise rapidly, this Policy will lead to a local manufacturing ecosystem here.”
Jaswinder Ahuja, VP & MD, Cadence Design Systems India – “The incentive package announced is relatively lower than other countries that have set semiconductor manufacturing as a strategic national priority.” -
Alok Ohrie, MD, AMD India – “The Policy can change the course of the IT landscape in the country. The impact will be felt in the entire eco-system, including consumption, TAM increase and employment generation.”
Atul Arora, president, Commercial Operations, ARM – “The semiconductor industry should help create around 25 mn jobs in direct manufacturing and affiliated fields.”
© Source: Voice&Data
|
