Associations based in south India are putting their best foot forward to turn the ‘Make in India’ dream into reality. The IESA is the most active among them with a well-defined growth trajectory
By Anwesh Koley
The ESDM industry in India has been witnessing heightened activity over the past couple of months with increased collaborations and strategic partnerships being announced across the country. Spearheading this growth are industry associations from the south, with a focus on developing greenfield and brownfield projects in collaboration with various state governments. This is in line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Central government that places strong emphasis on the ESDM sector, touted as a key driver for economic growth and efficient skills development across states.
IESA: Enabling robust pan India growth
In January 2015, Bengaluru based India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA) signed an MoU with the government of Uttar Pradesh. This move is expected to foster the growth of the ESDM sector within the state. IESA will provide a strategic roadmap to the government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) to drive forward the state’s electronics manufacturing agenda and on its part, the state government will provide the necessary support to IESA in obtaining requisite permissions, registrations, approvals, and clearances as per the existing facilities, rules and regulations of the state.
This seems to be the preferred mode of operation for IESA, as it will be able to avail incentives under various schemes announced by the Central and state governments, wherever applicable, to complete the projects within the stipulated time. The neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh (MP) has signed an MoU with the US based Cricket Semiconductor for setting up an analogue wafer fab in the state. IESA has played an enabling role in this project too. With a proposed investment of rupees six billion, this venture is expected to create an estimated half-a-million jobs in the state.
IESA has also been instrumental in assisting the government of Odisha in setting-up the first greenfield Electronic Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) in Info valley, Bhubaneswar, under the Electronic Manufacturing Clusters Scheme of DeitY. IESA has assisted the Odisha government in developing the strategic roadmap for the ESDM sector in the state, and also supported the state in seeking approval and funding for the greenfield EMC.
As a part of its initiatives in Maharashtra, IESA has joined hands with the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) to develop Pune’s first ESDM incubation centre. The Pimpri Industrial Area has been earmarked as the prospective project site and is estimated to cost around rupees 700
million. A similar project was initiated in Aurangabad, where the government of Maharashtra has allotted 8000sqm for a proposed brownfield EMC and 100 acres for a greenfield EMC.
In order to promote an industry-academia ecosystem and nurture the finest ESDM talent pool in the country, IESA is working with the Electronics Sector Skills Council of India (ESSCI) to set up a Centre of Excellence (COE) within an identified institution. On similar lines, IESA has also signed an MoU with Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), to provide industry-oriented programmes and courses through various institutes under VTU.
IESA also signed an MoU earlier this year with Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association (SSIA), with the objective to establish and develop trade and technical cooperation links between the electronics and semiconductor industries of both countries. Another focus area is to build a comprehensive ESDM start-up ecosystem. For this, IESA is engaging actively with the Bengaluru chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE). Under the partnership, an exclusive innovation showcase event was organised recently, identifying the best-of-breed home-grown start-ups in the Internet of Things (IoT) space.
Initiatives of other associations in south India
Other south based industry associations are also keeping pace with the growth of the ESDM sector in the country. IPC India is the local branch of the US-founded global electronics trade association and is headquartered in Bengaluru. It organised the National Conference on Electronics Design, Assembly and Reliability (NCEDAR) in Bengaluru this June to facilitate industry based technical events catering to engineers, quality personnel, shopfloor technicians and designers—all under one roof. Apart from providing a comprehensive platform for technical and business discussions, this conference also featured professional workshops, handholding competitions and the Designers Council meets to discuss the various aspects of growth envisaged for the ESDM industry in the future.
The Consortium of Electronic Industries of Karnataka (CLIK) has been another prominent name in the ESDM development space. Commencing its operations in 1982, its objective is to promote a vibrant electronics industry in Karnataka by organising need based seminars, exhibitions, trade delegations, policy advocacy, etc, across the state. CLIK has established a CLIK Calibration & Test Centre and IPR cell to support its members. CLIK organises CLIKTRONIKA, its flagship international event, on specific themes, once every two years.
This association has also formed the CLIK ESDM Cluster; a separate SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) consisting of CLIK members. One of the main objectives of this cluster is to establish a Common Facility Centre (CFC) as envisaged by the Cluster Development Programme (CDP) of the Ministry of MSME. The cluster also intends to establish the CLIK Electronics Hardware Technology Park (CEHTP), as envisaged by DeitY. To get these projects functional, the CLIK ESDM cluster is in discussions with the government of Karnataka to acquire land for the CEHTP.
Another southern association is the Electronic Industries Association of Andhra Pradesh (ELIAP) that began operations in 1970 and represents all the electronics industries in Andhra Pradesh (AP). About 250 manufacturing units in AP are members of ELIAP. The products manufactured cover a wide spectrum—from various types of components to sophisticated electronic systems for the consumer, professional, defence and space electronics fields.
