March 28, 2015: Infrastructure for chip manufacturing and designing will be considerably strengthened in India to cater to the growing domestic demand and to cut down the imports in the next few years. Addressing the first Indian Electronics Expo organised by Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) in New Delhi, secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India RS Sharma, revealed that the government would be investing US$ 10 billion in the chip manufacturing facilities coming up in Gujarat and UP, where a consortium of manufacturing firms have come up to set up the production bases. India would also be investing US$ 400 million in developing an Indian version of micro-processor. These are part of the initiatives that are under way to create an ecosystem that lays focus on high ended innovation. A dedicated fund, known as Electronics Development Fund had been created to leverage the use of venture capital funds to promote more start-ups in the country, he added.
Mentioning about the advantages that India is endowed with in the production of electronics goods in the country, Sharma said that the frugal technologies that it has evolved has a higher value quotient and are suitable for many countries which are at the same level of development. The Secretary said that India provided an exciting hub for electronics investment mainly on account of the surging domestic market and infrastructure, logistics and financial support being provided to the investors, be they from India or abroad. China undoubtedly is the major producer of electronic goods in the world. Of late, many of the electronics giants are embarking on a China plus strategy, mostly focusing on India. Coupled with Make in India and Digital India program initiated recently by the government, the renewed interest in electronics production in the country can help India achieve the target set for zero import of electronics into the country by 2020.
Chairman, ESC Vinod Sharma, observed that India’s electronics hardware production should increase at least by 10 fold to catch up with the demand and to meet the target of achieving zero import by 2020 as envisioned by the Prime Minister. India, he said, produces many frugally designed products that would be relevant to countries in Africa, Latin America and CIS. He referred to the example of mosquito repellent, which has frugal designing and cheaply priced but highly suitable to these countries.
The expo is attended by over 125 delegates from 26 countries. More than 30 Indian companies are displaying their electronics hardware products at the two-day expo.
