Date: 18/02/2013

ISA vision summit 2013: Key highlights on India electronics and IC biz

IESA Vision Summit 2013 conveyed the message of importance of electronics system design for local manufacturing, so that plenty of manufacturing jobs created in India. India is getting ready for value-added mass manufacturing of electronics products. Its not just manufacturing, design and manufacturing is the focus. The domestic companies include not only local companies but also global companies which keeps the design IP in India.

Some of the information shared by Government officials and members of IESA at the Vision Summit includes:

10 Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC) are expected by end of 2013.

In Karnataka, Brownfield clusters are identified at Electronics City, Whitefield, and Peenya and site for greenfield clusters are yet to be identified.

The 5 top products of focus includes Set Top Box, tablet computer, smartphone, smart card, micro ATM. The Set Top Box is high priority, because India need 200 million STBs in 2013 and 2014.

Government is engaging closely with industry bodies such as MAIT ( Manufacturers' Association For Information Technology), ELCINA ( Electronic Industries Association of India) and IESA (India Electronics and Semiconductor Association).

Government has devised method to fund startups. Some big things are happening, the formal announcement are expected in next couple of months.

Chip incubation centers are coming up to provide support to fables semiconductor companies. Support includes providing easy access to EDA tools, easy access to IP libraries, and semiconductor foundry facilities.

Semiconductor Investor-Master:

One of the top semiconductor venture capitalist Lip-Bu Tan (in the pic above) was telling the audience at Vision Summit 2013, fabless semiconductor business is the hot area to invest in India. He is keenly looking at Indian electronics industry to seed and fund innovative and well connected (with the industry) entrepreneurs in India. Lip-Bu Tan had invested in India's leading analog and mixed signal IP provider Cosmic Circuits, which now got acquired by Lip-Bu Tan headed Cadence Design Systems. He has invested in lot of semiconductor startups around the world, which are doing well. Few to name in semiconductor domain includes Ambarella, Aptina, and Enverv. Check more on that at http://www.waldenintl.com/portfolio.aspx

Lip-Bu Tan talked about global trends in electronics semiconductor domain such as vertical-integration growing collaboration between stakeholders such as semiconductor foundries, fables chip designers, and IP/EDA software players. He suggest India has to work smart and go for a non-traditional way of doing business to leapfrog, India has to move really faster and time-to-market is critical. India should be able to design the best product and differentiating product, which is something important, according to him.

Lip-Bu Tan connects the companies he invests to customers he knows. That's a big advantage for startups which get funded by him. He is like a magic wand in IC business.

More analysis, technovation awards info, in the next article going to published tomorrow.
Author: Srinivasa Reddy N