'Semicon will be the heart of next tech wave'

BANGALORE, INDIA: "Semiconductors will be the heart of the next technology wave and it is right time to identify the growing potential semiconductor market to invest it," said Lip-Bu Tan, CEO of Cadence Design Systems and Chairman, Walden International.

Delivering the keynote address at the Eighth IESA Vision Summit 2013, Lip-Bu Tan urged the young entrepreneurs and investors that semiconductor industry is the best area to start a new company in India.

The IESA Vision Summit 2013 is an annual industry conclave of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), the premier trade body, representing the Indian Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) and semiconductor industry, that began in Bangalore on Thursday.

The two-day event includes addresses and panel discussions on policy, the role of state governments, entrepreneurship and innovation, and the experience of various players in the global electronics ecosystem.

Highlighting on the opportunities and growth in the semiconductor industry, Lip-Bu Tan said, "By 2020, there will be over 10 billion mobile Internet devices, and the core of each is a specialized semiconductor."

He further added that looking at the growth of key market trends in the area of applications, video, mobility, cloud and security, India has a huge opportunity to invest in the semicon market.

The chief guest at the IESA Vision Summit, T.V. Mohandas Pai, chairman, Manipal Global Education, in his speech, said, "In this day, when very nation strives to achieve self-sufficiency in as many spheres as possible, I don't see why India with all the required talent cannot develop the required consumption of electronics products, right here in our country, not just to meet domestic requirements, but also to serve global markets."

"Conducive policy and infrastructure are falling into place, setting the stage for India to take her rightful place in a global industry," added Pai.

Giving an overview on the national policy on electronics (NPE) on behalf of Government of India, Dr Ajay Kumar, IAS, Joint Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, said, "NPE vision is to create a globally competitive electronics design and manufacturing industry to meet the country's needs and serve the international market."

The NPE goals for 2020 includes to reach turnover of $400 billion in chip design and to take embedded software industry to $55 billion, said Kumar and further added the National Telecom Policy was approved by the Cabinet on May 31, 2012.

The guests of honour at the inaugural event were Partha Chatterjee, cabinet minister for IT & Industries, Government of West Bengal and I.S.N. Prasad, principal secretary, Government of Karnataka.

In his inaugural speech, Dr Satya Gupta, chairman, IESA, reiterated their new charter saying, electronics and semiconductor products are key to the growth of the ESDM Industry.

"In the context of the recently released ISA-F&S Report on ESDM, the IESA's immediate focus for the next three years is to increase the percentage of domestically manufactured products to at least 50 per cent from the current, less than 35 per cent and facilitate the growth of at least 25 new fabless semiconductor start-ups," he added.

Briefing about the new charter of the IESA, P.V.G. Menon, president, IESA said, "The new charter of the IESA is both broadening and deepening the reach of the organization. IESA has further deepened our reach with our connect with the four states of Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, whose secretaries, IT and Industries, have honored us with their presence here today."

We will broaden our horizons by continuing to focus on international collaborations, all to smoothen the way for Indian electronics companies to compete in the international market, said Menon.

The annual two-day event brought together industry leaders, representatives of government and academia from around the world, to discuss and share their share their views on the way ahead to establish India's leadership and self-sufficiency in electronics.