By Dr Ajay Kumar, joint secretary, DeiTY, Govt of India
Saturday, May 03, 2014: As India goes through the elections to Lok Sabha, there is natural sense of wait and watch in the industry. The Model Code of Conduct for the elections has also had its effect. The tempo is expected to pick up again after the election process is completed and the new Government assumes office.
Significant strides have been made in last year and half with respect to policy initiatives and their implementation for the Electronics System Design and Manufacturing.
The National Policy on Electronics has laid the foundation of policy framework which has revived hope in the sector. Semiconductor wafer fabs have been approved, a decision which is historic and has potential to change the landscape of electronics industry in the country. Modified SIPS is continuously attracting investments. New Greenfield Electronic Manufacturing Clusters are under development. The Compulsory Standards Order has come into effect, creating a framework for standards in electronics in the country.
Policy to provide preference to domestic manufacturers in Government procurement has been approved. Bilateral collaboration is underway with Japan and Israel. Industry from Taiwan is also showing significant interest. Scheme to develop skill sets needed by electronics industry has been approved. A scheme to provide for a quantum jump in the PhDs in electronics has been taken up. Scheme to support MSME in the sector, National Awards to recognize the industry have also been approved.
However, the journey has only begun and miles to go. Implementing the policies successfully is an ongoing challenge. Semiconductor wafer fab poses unique challenges due to its mammoth size, immense complexities and lack of extant eco-system required to support such a project. Needless to say, this has to be priority. Modified SIPS experience has given feedback for improvement. The preference to domestic manufacturers needs to be enforced with political will. We need to develop collaboration with other major strongholds of electronics including Korea, Germany, France, Belgium, US, Singapore etc.
The policy agenda is yet incomplete. Some of the things which we need to pursue include the Electronics Development Fund (EDF) Policy, the National Electronics Commission, Promotion of fabless design, National Centres of Excellence in Large Area Electronics and in Devices for Homeland Security, Setting up of Incubators, Rationalization of tariff structure, Incentive scheme for manufacture of ITA products in DTA, Leveraging defense requirements to develop domestic capabilities in electronics.
This is not an exhaustive list and we need to have a feedback loop which will inform us to take up initiatives as we go along. However, if I were to pick one item for immediate decision, it would be the EDF Policy. This has transformational potential as it unleashes the R&D and innovation potential of the country and not merely of some select institutions. Without the industry aggressively pursuing the agenda of innovation, it is unlikely that our goal of vibrant ESDM ecosystem can realistically happen or sustain.
Another area of focus has to be components. Now that we have started receiving good response from OEMs, we need to give focused attention to components which cut across all verticals. Lithium ion batteries, displays, PCBs, sensors and rare earths need to be taken up on priority. Specialized projects, as for semiconductor wafer fabs may have to be taken up for the components.
We welcome thoughts and feedback of readers with regard to additional items which can be added to this unfinished agenda
Source: Electronics India e-Newsletter
