Driving collaboration, skilling, and innovation, how is ELCIA transforming Electronics City into a globally competitive manufacturing hub while bridging industry gaps and enabling MSME growth? The newly appointed CEO, V Sriram Kumar, tells everything to EFY’s Saba Aafreen and Shubha Mitra.
Q. Could you briefly share your personal journey and what led you to take on the leadership role at ELCIA?
A. I have over 30 years of experience in the manufacturing industry and have been associated with the Electronics City Industries Association (ELCIA) for more than two decades, contributing to infrastructure development and maintenance in Electronics City, here in Bengaluru. Over the years, I have served in multiple roles, including Secretary and Treasurer, and later as President for three years. Taking on the CEO role was a natural progression, as there is greater potential to strengthen both the business and social ecosystem by engaging more directly with the community. Given my long association with ELCIA, I believe I can contribute meaningfully to its next phase of development.
Q. Having spent decades in the industry, what aspects of India’s electronics and manufacturing ecosystem have evolved the most during your career?
A. India’s electronics ecosystem has seen notable progress, particularly over the past 15–20 years. Policy initiatives such as Make in India, efforts to reduce import dependence, and schemes like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI), Design Linked Incentive (DLI), and Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) have supported industry growth and improved self-reliance.
More recently, programmes such as the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) and India AI Mission have further strengthened the outlook. While gaps remain, the ecosystem has advanced considerably and is now better positioned for growth, exports, and technological capability.
Q. From a leadership perspective, what must industry associations do differently today to remain relevant in technology-driven sectors?
A. Industry associations need to foster collaboration, co-creation, and coordination across the ecosystem. As large companies are relatively self-sufficient, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups require structured support to scale, despite being key drivers of innovation and employment.
A critical area is skilling, including strengthening apprenticeship programmes, upgrading Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), and promoting industry participation in training. Initiatives such as adopting ITIs and improving infrastructure can help create a job-ready workforce, which is vital given the gap between the number of engineering graduates and their employability.
Associations can also make manufacturing a more attractive career option for young professionals and support members through collective efforts in supply chain development, including better access to raw materials, finance, and markets.
Q. How is ELCIA contributing to sectoral growth and community development?
A. ELCIA’s initiatives reflect this broader approach. Over the past decade, it has partnered with government programmes such as Skills Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE), Craftsmen Training Scheme–Centres of Excellence/Model Career Centres (CMK), and National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) to promote skilling and apprenticeships.
Post-COVID, it established the ELCIA Skill Development Centre, which has trained and placed around 5000 individuals across entry-level and apprenticeship roles, while also focusing on upskilling and reskilling the existing workforce.
ELCIA has also positioned Electronics City as a benchmark industrial destination, now a platinum-rated green township with zero waste to landfill, decentralised sewage treatment plants (STPs), smart cameras, and smart street lighting.
Through the ELCIA Trust, the association supports 20-24 schools with mid-day meals for nearly 5,000 children daily, along with health monitoring, infrastructure, and essentials such as uniforms and books, as well as water supply and student transport. During COVID-19, these efforts expanded to include food distribution, ambulances, a 20-bed intensive care unit (ICU), and a free oxygen concentrator bank.
On the industry side, ELCIA operates the Lean Six Sigma (LSC) Tech Hub, a common facilities centre enabling MSMEs to access advanced manufacturing infrastructure for prototyping and training. Looking ahead, it is working towards a centre of excellence for sensors to bridge academic research and market-ready products, accelerate productisation using artificial intelligence (AI), and reduce import dependence in the sensor segment.
Q. How does ELCIA manage such a diverse ecosystem across aerospace, electronics, IT, and manufacturing?
A. ELCIA maintains a structured feedback mechanism with its 200+ member companies. Despite sectoral diversity, core challenges remain consistent, particularly the shortage of skilled manpower and access to finance, especially for MSMEs.
Skilling is a cross-cutting priority. ELCIA runs industry-aligned training programmes in collaboration with member companies to address workforce gaps, although retention remains an industry-wide challenge.
Institutionally, the association’s executive committee includes representation from large enterprises, MSMEs, and startups across sectors. This ensures that both policy inputs and operational support reflect the needs of a diverse industrial base, enabling ELCIA to address requirements across company sizes and industries.
Q. What is the scale of the ecosystem, which sectors dominate, and how do you see it evolving?
A. Electronics City hosts over 200 companies, employing more than 200,000 people directly and a similar number indirectly. The ecosystem includes a mix of large multinational corporations and MSMEs, with employment broadly distributed across both segments.
While information technology (IT) companies are more visible, manufacturing, mainly among MSMEs, forms a substantial part of the ecosystem. The cluster maintains a balanced mix of sectors, including IT services, electronics manufacturing, and industrial automation.
The ecosystem is expected to evolve through deeper integration between large firms and MSMEs, greater localisation, and stronger cross-sector collaboration, particularly in advanced manufacturing and electronics.
Q. What are the key priorities for ELCIA under the new leadership?
A. ELCIA’s priorities have evolved alongside industry needs, from infrastructure and governance to business continuity and ease of doing business. Current focus areas include policy advocacy, access to finance, and skilling, which remains a consistent priority.
The association is also expanding its role in enabling innovation. Initiatives such as the LSC Tech Summit bring together global industry leaders to share insights on emerging technologies, helping local companies adopt advancements in AI, Industry 4.0, and automation.
ELCIA is strengthening partnerships with industry bodies to promote knowledge exchange and collaboration. A key focus is fostering co-creation between large companies and MSMEs, enabling joint product development across domains such as electronics, AI, and mechanical engineering.
Additional initiatives include hackathons for students and startups, support for electric vehicle (EV) and hardware startups, improved access to finance through institutional linkages, and a shared consultant network for MSMEs. These efforts aim to sustain Electronics City as a preferred destination for investment and innovation.
Q. What R&D and innovation infrastructure exists within the cluster?
A. ELCIA operates a common facilities centre, established with support from state and central governments. The facility provides access to advanced machinery, prototyping capabilities, and testing and certification infrastructure, particularly benefiting MSMEs.
A defining strength of the cluster is its complementary ecosystem. Companies across sectors collaborate on product development; for instance, component manufacturers supporting applications in automotive, aerospace, and industrial systems. This enables efficient co-creation and reduces dependency on external ecosystems.
While the environment supports collaboration, increasing trust and the use of structured frameworks among MSMEs could further unlock joint innovation potential.
Q. What are the key gaps in India’s electronic product development ecosystem?
A. Several structural challenges continue to affect India’s electronic product development ecosystem. One of the most persistent issues is raw material dependency, with a significant portion still imported, which affects both costs and supply stability.
Access to finance is another concern. While capital expenditure funding is relatively available, operational financing remains limited. At the same time, venture capital (VC) interest is largely skewed toward IT and digital sectors, with comparatively lower appetite for long-gestation manufacturing investments. This becomes even more evident in pre-revenue hardware startups, which often struggle to secure sustained funding because investors typically seek faster returns than manufacturing timelines can deliver.
There are also barriers to accessing policy support. Although several government schemes exist, their eligibility criteria are often stringent, making it difficult for smaller firms to benefit. Even large incentive programmes like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme tend to benefit bigger companies more directly, with the trickle-down impact on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) still evolving.
Additionally, localisation remains weak in emerging sectors such as electric vehicles (EVs), where reliance on imported kits remains high, and domestically developed products face challenges in scaling up.
Addressing these issues will require stronger domestic supply chains, more patient capital for manufacturing, and deeper integration between large enterprises and MSMEs to build a more resilient and self-reliant ecosystem.
Q. What academic partnerships has ELCIA developed to strengthen research and talent development?
A. ELCIA has established partnerships with ITIs, engineering, and management institutions to provide member companies with access to a steady talent pipeline. It also facilitates internships, both within ELCIA (around 30-40 annually) and across member companies, enabling students to gain industry exposure.
On the research and development (R&D) front, ELCIA has memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with institutions such as International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B), Central Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) labs. These collaborations allow member companies, specifically MSMEs, to access research, technologies, and infrastructure for product development. The cluster model further enables companies to leverage these resources collaboratively for innovation.
Q. What initiatives encourage students and researchers to engage with industry?
A. ELCIA promotes multiple industry–academia engagement formats, including: industry visits for students from colleges and ITIs, internships and apprenticeships across member companies, and on-the-job training programmes to build industry readiness
It also organises hackathons to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. Participation has scaled significantly, from about 80 teams in the first edition to over 800 applications after expanding to include startups. While only a limited number are awarded, the platform encourages problem-solving and venture creation.
These initiatives aim to bridge the gap between academia and industry while promoting entrepreneurship as a pathway to job creation.
Q. With shifting geopolitics and supply chains, how can Electronics City position itself as a preferred manufacturing destination?
A. ELCIA has partnerships with export and trade bodies such as Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC), Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), and various Export Promotion Councils (EPCs), enabling member companies to access international markets.
The cluster regularly hosts international delegations from regions including Europe, Africa, Japan, and Southeast Asia, facilitating technology exchange and business collaborations.
While challenges such as raw material dependency and global price volatility persist, ELCIA provides a platform for companies to explore alternative sourcing strategies and partnerships. It also engages with government bodies, including the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), to communicate industry concerns and contribute to policy advocacy.
Though not all constraints can be directly resolved, the ecosystem enables companies to identify and pursue adaptive, market-linked solutions.
Q. What message would you share with companies considering Electronics City?
A. Electronics City offers a mature, collaborative ecosystem suitable for companies across sectors. It provides strong opportunities for co-creation, prototyping, and innovation, supported by an active industry association that engages closely with members.
The cluster benefits from robust infrastructure, high-quality public transport connectivity, and proximity to key national institutions, including Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), IIIT-B, and leading management institutes.
With coordinated governance, multi-layered security, and industry-focused infrastructure management, Electronics City supports ease of doing business. Contrary to perception, capacity for new entrants remains available, making it a viable destination for companies seeking a well-integrated industrial ecosystem.
