BANGALORE, INDIA: The India Semiconductor Association (ISA) today applauded the government’s step in extending the STPI tax holiday for technology export firms from March 2010 to March 2011. It would be of special relevance to SMEs.
Addressing the issues of transfer pricing and removal of fringe benefit tax were the other positive steps. These steps would attract talent to the knowledge sector and improve the competitiveness of India.
Weighted deduction of 150 percent on in-house R&D expenditure available to all manufacturing businesses will provide a boost to domestic R&D efforts and is a welcome move. Upgradation of polytechnics could create employment opportunities in the manufacturing sector with a pool of qualified and trained talent.
Basic customs duty of 5 percent applicable on import of set-top boxes is an incentive for domestic manufacturing. Reduction of custom duty on LCD panels and exemption of CVD on parts for mobile manufacturing will also help the manufacturing industry.
Commenting on the budget, ISA Chairman B.V. Naidu, Group CEO Vanpic Projects said, "These are positive developments and a signal that the government is committed to the growth of the sector and addressing its issues in this tough economic environment."
Showing posts with label BV Naidu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BV Naidu. Show all posts
Monday, July 6, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
ISA's BV Naidu on India's way forward in semiconductors
B.V. Naidu, Group Chief Executive Officer, Genexx Enpower Corp. Pvt. Ltd, and currently Vice chairman Of Matrix Enport and Group CEO, VANPIC Projects, recently took over as the chairman of the India Semiconductor Association (ISA). He brings over 23 years of experience in developing the IT industry across India as part of the Department of Information Technology/Software Technology Parks of India (STPI).
Naidu's tenure at ISA's helm should turn out to be a very interesting one, given that India now has a new Union Government and Union Cabinet in place, and the latest Union Budget is likely to be announced soon. In this interview, Naidu also talks about the industry's expectations from the Central Government, on the fabs vs. fabless debate, and on the need for building a system for incubating Indian start-ups, respectively.
A very interesting development would be the ISA's proposal of the India Semiconductor Vision 2020 Document for the country. When this document is tabled, it should interest those countries, and companies, looking to invest in India -- as the document would lay out all of the clear, long term goals for the Indian semiconductor industry. Exciting times seem to be ahead for the Indian semiconductor industry. Excerpts:
Main goal for ISA
Naidu said that the ISA needs to get adopted to the changing dynamics in the industry with the increasing domestic market. It is necessary for India to enhance the product design capabilities -- which are made in India for India. In view of this, the ISA is enhancing its scope to cover the embedded software and systems companies.
"As a result of the new semiconductor policy, there has been spurt of the growth of the solar PV industry in the country. ISA has spearheaded the semicon policy, ISA is also covering the solar PV industry. Thereby, ISA is spreading its reach to cover the embedded software, electronic products as well as photovoltaic sectors," he said.
Top five points on ISA's agenda
BV Naidu: According to ISA, these should be:
i. ISA would work along with industry, academia and the Government, and formulate the strategy for the growth of fabulous design companies, product design companies, ecosystem companies and solar PV companies.
ii. ISA would also propose the India Semiconductor Vision 2020 Document for the country.
iii. ISA would enhance its activities focusing on increased product desired companies.
iv. ISA will put up a plan for working along with entrepreneurs, mentors, venture capitalists and academic institutions to enhance entrepreneurship and IP creation.
v. ISA will work with the Union Government to enhance the growth of the solar PV sector, its visibility and Government incentives to make this industry viable for growth in India.
Building semiconductor ecosystem in India
BV Naidu said that the ISA is taking several steps. These are:
ISA will strive to enhance the strategic value to its member companies -- semicon, systems and solar -- by creating balanced eco system around the its stakeholders -- industry, government and academia.
ISA should be accepted as a tier 1 industry body and think tank/advisory body for influencing policy for the Central and State governments. ISA would also encourage an entrepreneurship ecosystem focus in innovation and design. As for talent, ISA will aim for 100 PhD enrollments in research in medical and energy over the next five years.
With regard to what ISA would be doing in the coming year and in the current economic scenario, it would include the following:
For the government:
* Aim to remove anomalies in duty structure for semicon companies (Mo Fin/Com).
* Grow further fabless design companies in India (DIT).
* Roadmap for electronic manufacturing in India (NMCC).
* Take forward recommendations of SPV report (MNRE).
* Take forward the Semicon Policy implementation.
* Strengthen ties with state governments.
For SMEs/startups:
* Create platforms for mentoring & funding interaction with VCs.
* Make the ISA website a resource centre on the Indian semicon industry.
Market facing activities:
* Increase domestic market.
* Made in India for India.
* Increase competitiveness of product design, mfg & market reach.
* Position India as solar PV hub.
* Publish market sales data on a quarterly basis.
For talent:
* Aim for at least 20 PhD enrollments in research in medical and energy over the next 12 months.
Education and research perspectives
BV Naidu added that the participation of education and research would be as follows:
* Aim for 100 PhD enrollments in research in medical and energy over the next five years.
* Close working partnership between ISA and VSI to drive research agenda.
* Strong existing commitment to this agenda from VSI through corpus.
* Need each ISA member to sponsor at least one full time PhD student each year over the next five years.
* Commitment to be financial (Rs 25,000 pm), mentoring and test chips.
* Sponsorship amount will also cover international paper presentation, faculty support, kits, etc.
* ISA will work with DST to potentially match the aid from industry.
* VSI will work with universities and sponsoring companies to identify and mentor the scholars.
* All fundamental IP from the research will be available to the pool of sponsoring companies.
ISA's goal is to drive the fundamental pre-competitive semiconductor research in medical and energy in India.
Boosting semicon manufacturing
According to BV Naidu: India’s chip manufacturing has been restricted to captive centers for defense and aerospace to date. The announcement of the semiconductor policy 2007 is likely to see the opening of doors to global investors in both chip manufacturing and its ecosystem, and related hi-tech manufacturing.
The Government of India has announced a national semiconductor policy. It seeks to establish India as an attractive destination for global investors. The policy has financial subsidies and it is necessary that due diligence takes place before these benefits are sanctioned. The appointment of the Appraisal Committee and the setting up of guidelines to evaluate investments are the key for the long-term effectiveness of the policy and to build the sector.
The solar photovoltaic industry has received a real boost with the introduction of this policy and given India an opportunity to be a global player. It has also opened up opportunities for investments and employment.
Given the current economic climate, it would not be an uncommon request if the semicon policy is extended from 2010 to at least 2014/2015!
"ISA, particularly, will work along with the Government of India and various state governments to create manufacturing clusters around the country. The ISA also conducts the Excite exhibition to bring all the ecosystem players who could bring the manufacturing industry together," he added.
Fabs vs. fabless
Fabs vs. fabless has been an interesting debate. What should be the way forward for the Indian industry?
BV Naidu said: "Currently, the Indian semiconductor companies mainly focus on IC design services comprising VLSI design, board design and embedded software and are mostly in services, with a small number of product companies. There is also some amount of board level fabrication and testing activity.
"India has the potential to become a global design centre and a leader in product design, development, testing, fabrication and distribution. As a strategy, one should focus initially on product design, development, assembly and test, while leveraging wafer fabrication capability from the most competitive sources in the region."
Incubating start-ups
We haven't seen many start-ups in the recent past. How can the India industry go about trying to build a system for incubating Indian start-ups?
BV Naidu: It would be appropriate if the Government of India could provide seed and start-up capital for the new ventures and set up a focused venture fund of about Rs 200 crores. The technology development board could administer these funds and the fund may provide up to 80% of the approved project cost with equity balance being brought in by entrepreneur.
The Government can also subsidize the acquisition of EDA tools by start-ups and other SMEs in this sector.
Prototype development centers with adequate fabrication facilities can be set up as well. These centers can be managed by industry associations. Recurring costs could be met by charging user fees. ISA can be given a grant for this purpose.
The above steps will encourage entrepreneurship eco-system focus in innovation and design.
Finally, what are the industry's expectations from the new Central government?
BV Naidu said that the key areas of focus include the following:
a) Semiconductor manufacturing
i. Extension of Semicon Policy
b) Semiconductor design
i. STPI extension
ii. Transfer Pricing
c) Solar PV
i. Duty structure (point no. 3 under chapter VII on Solar PV in our pre-budget memo).
We have also made the following requests with the Government of India:
* Significance of semiconductor industry – need to accord it National Agenda status.
* Government of India Semiconductor Policy 2007 – suggested amendments.
* Domestic electronics hardware manufacturing – proposals to enhance its competitiveness.
* Fabless design companies – recommendations for growth.
* Semiconductor related research – a focus area.
* Other key proposals
* Solar PV manufacturing – Recommendations to promote domestic industry.
Naidu's tenure at ISA's helm should turn out to be a very interesting one, given that India now has a new Union Government and Union Cabinet in place, and the latest Union Budget is likely to be announced soon. In this interview, Naidu also talks about the industry's expectations from the Central Government, on the fabs vs. fabless debate, and on the need for building a system for incubating Indian start-ups, respectively.
A very interesting development would be the ISA's proposal of the India Semiconductor Vision 2020 Document for the country. When this document is tabled, it should interest those countries, and companies, looking to invest in India -- as the document would lay out all of the clear, long term goals for the Indian semiconductor industry. Exciting times seem to be ahead for the Indian semiconductor industry. Excerpts:
Main goal for ISA
Naidu said that the ISA needs to get adopted to the changing dynamics in the industry with the increasing domestic market. It is necessary for India to enhance the product design capabilities -- which are made in India for India. In view of this, the ISA is enhancing its scope to cover the embedded software and systems companies.
"As a result of the new semiconductor policy, there has been spurt of the growth of the solar PV industry in the country. ISA has spearheaded the semicon policy, ISA is also covering the solar PV industry. Thereby, ISA is spreading its reach to cover the embedded software, electronic products as well as photovoltaic sectors," he said.
Top five points on ISA's agenda
BV Naidu: According to ISA, these should be:
i. ISA would work along with industry, academia and the Government, and formulate the strategy for the growth of fabulous design companies, product design companies, ecosystem companies and solar PV companies.
ii. ISA would also propose the India Semiconductor Vision 2020 Document for the country.
iii. ISA would enhance its activities focusing on increased product desired companies.
iv. ISA will put up a plan for working along with entrepreneurs, mentors, venture capitalists and academic institutions to enhance entrepreneurship and IP creation.
v. ISA will work with the Union Government to enhance the growth of the solar PV sector, its visibility and Government incentives to make this industry viable for growth in India.
Building semiconductor ecosystem in India
BV Naidu said that the ISA is taking several steps. These are:
ISA will strive to enhance the strategic value to its member companies -- semicon, systems and solar -- by creating balanced eco system around the its stakeholders -- industry, government and academia.
ISA should be accepted as a tier 1 industry body and think tank/advisory body for influencing policy for the Central and State governments. ISA would also encourage an entrepreneurship ecosystem focus in innovation and design. As for talent, ISA will aim for 100 PhD enrollments in research in medical and energy over the next five years.
With regard to what ISA would be doing in the coming year and in the current economic scenario, it would include the following:
For the government:
* Aim to remove anomalies in duty structure for semicon companies (Mo Fin/Com).
* Grow further fabless design companies in India (DIT).
* Roadmap for electronic manufacturing in India (NMCC).
* Take forward recommendations of SPV report (MNRE).
* Take forward the Semicon Policy implementation.
* Strengthen ties with state governments.
For SMEs/startups:
* Create platforms for mentoring & funding interaction with VCs.
* Make the ISA website a resource centre on the Indian semicon industry.
Market facing activities:
* Increase domestic market.
* Made in India for India.
* Increase competitiveness of product design, mfg & market reach.
* Position India as solar PV hub.
* Publish market sales data on a quarterly basis.
For talent:
* Aim for at least 20 PhD enrollments in research in medical and energy over the next 12 months.
Education and research perspectives
BV Naidu added that the participation of education and research would be as follows:
* Aim for 100 PhD enrollments in research in medical and energy over the next five years.
* Close working partnership between ISA and VSI to drive research agenda.
* Strong existing commitment to this agenda from VSI through corpus.
* Need each ISA member to sponsor at least one full time PhD student each year over the next five years.
* Commitment to be financial (Rs 25,000 pm), mentoring and test chips.
* Sponsorship amount will also cover international paper presentation, faculty support, kits, etc.
* ISA will work with DST to potentially match the aid from industry.
* VSI will work with universities and sponsoring companies to identify and mentor the scholars.
* All fundamental IP from the research will be available to the pool of sponsoring companies.
ISA's goal is to drive the fundamental pre-competitive semiconductor research in medical and energy in India.
Boosting semicon manufacturing
According to BV Naidu: India’s chip manufacturing has been restricted to captive centers for defense and aerospace to date. The announcement of the semiconductor policy 2007 is likely to see the opening of doors to global investors in both chip manufacturing and its ecosystem, and related hi-tech manufacturing.
The Government of India has announced a national semiconductor policy. It seeks to establish India as an attractive destination for global investors. The policy has financial subsidies and it is necessary that due diligence takes place before these benefits are sanctioned. The appointment of the Appraisal Committee and the setting up of guidelines to evaluate investments are the key for the long-term effectiveness of the policy and to build the sector.
The solar photovoltaic industry has received a real boost with the introduction of this policy and given India an opportunity to be a global player. It has also opened up opportunities for investments and employment.
Given the current economic climate, it would not be an uncommon request if the semicon policy is extended from 2010 to at least 2014/2015!
"ISA, particularly, will work along with the Government of India and various state governments to create manufacturing clusters around the country. The ISA also conducts the Excite exhibition to bring all the ecosystem players who could bring the manufacturing industry together," he added.
Fabs vs. fabless
Fabs vs. fabless has been an interesting debate. What should be the way forward for the Indian industry?
BV Naidu said: "Currently, the Indian semiconductor companies mainly focus on IC design services comprising VLSI design, board design and embedded software and are mostly in services, with a small number of product companies. There is also some amount of board level fabrication and testing activity.
"India has the potential to become a global design centre and a leader in product design, development, testing, fabrication and distribution. As a strategy, one should focus initially on product design, development, assembly and test, while leveraging wafer fabrication capability from the most competitive sources in the region."
Incubating start-ups
We haven't seen many start-ups in the recent past. How can the India industry go about trying to build a system for incubating Indian start-ups?
BV Naidu: It would be appropriate if the Government of India could provide seed and start-up capital for the new ventures and set up a focused venture fund of about Rs 200 crores. The technology development board could administer these funds and the fund may provide up to 80% of the approved project cost with equity balance being brought in by entrepreneur.
The Government can also subsidize the acquisition of EDA tools by start-ups and other SMEs in this sector.
Prototype development centers with adequate fabrication facilities can be set up as well. These centers can be managed by industry associations. Recurring costs could be met by charging user fees. ISA can be given a grant for this purpose.
The above steps will encourage entrepreneurship eco-system focus in innovation and design.
Finally, what are the industry's expectations from the new Central government?
BV Naidu said that the key areas of focus include the following:
a) Semiconductor manufacturing
i. Extension of Semicon Policy
b) Semiconductor design
i. STPI extension
ii. Transfer Pricing
c) Solar PV
i. Duty structure (point no. 3 under chapter VII on Solar PV in our pre-budget memo).
We have also made the following requests with the Government of India:
* Significance of semiconductor industry – need to accord it National Agenda status.
* Government of India Semiconductor Policy 2007 – suggested amendments.
* Domestic electronics hardware manufacturing – proposals to enhance its competitiveness.
* Fabless design companies – recommendations for growth.
* Semiconductor related research – a focus area.
* Other key proposals
* Solar PV manufacturing – Recommendations to promote domestic industry.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
BV Naidu takes over as ISA Chairman
BANGALORE, INDIA: The India Semiconductor Association ISA, the premier trade body representing Indian semiconductor, systems and solar photovoltaicindustry, announced the appointment of its new Executive Council for the year 2009-10.
BV Naidu, Group CEO, Genexx Enpower Corp. Pvt. Ltd. would be the Chairman, and Dr. Bobby Mitra, President and Managing Director, Texas Instruments India would be the Vice–Chairman in the coming year.
Announcing the new members to the Executive Council, Poornima Shenoy, President ISA, said: "The ISA Executive Council represents the key segments of the semiconductor industry and both domestic and international design and manufacturing companies. ISA would be driving the 3 S’s representing Solar, Semicon and Systems companies, and adding significant value to members in those spaces with the support of Government and our stakeholders.
"The Indian semicon design industry is expected to reach $10.96 billion market by 2010, while the market demand for semiconductors is expected to reach $ 7.59 billion by 2010."
ISA Chairman
B V Naidu,
Group Chief Executive officer, Genexx Enpower Corp. Pvt. Ltd
ISA Vice Chairman
Dr. Biswadip (Bobby) Mitra
President & Managing Director, Texas Instruments India Pvt Ltd
Treasurer
Dr. Pradip K. Dutta
Corporate Vice President & Managing Director, Synopsys (I) Pvt Ltd
Advisor
Jaswinder S. Ahuja
Corporate Vice President & Managing Director India, Cadence Design Systems India
ISA President
Ms Poornima Shenoy
President, India Semiconductor Association
Anil Gupta
Managing Director, ARM Embedded Technologies Pvt. Ltd
Rajiv Kapur
Managing Director, Broadcom (I) Pvt. Ltd
Ganesh Guruswamy
Vice President & Country Manager, Freescale Semiconductor (I) Pvt. Ltd
S. Janakiraman
President & Group CEO – Product Engineering Services, Mindtree Ltd
Dr. Rajeewa Arya
Chief Executive Officer, Moser Baer (I) Ltd
Vivek Sharma
Vice President Asiapac-India Operation, Director India Design Centres, STMicroelectronics Pvt. Ltd
BV Naidu, Group CEO, Genexx Enpower Corp. Pvt. Ltd. would be the Chairman, and Dr. Bobby Mitra, President and Managing Director, Texas Instruments India would be the Vice–Chairman in the coming year.
Announcing the new members to the Executive Council, Poornima Shenoy, President ISA, said: "The ISA Executive Council represents the key segments of the semiconductor industry and both domestic and international design and manufacturing companies. ISA would be driving the 3 S’s representing Solar, Semicon and Systems companies, and adding significant value to members in those spaces with the support of Government and our stakeholders.
"The Indian semicon design industry is expected to reach $10.96 billion market by 2010, while the market demand for semiconductors is expected to reach $ 7.59 billion by 2010."
ISA Chairman
B V Naidu,
Group Chief Executive officer, Genexx Enpower Corp. Pvt. Ltd
ISA Vice Chairman
Dr. Biswadip (Bobby) Mitra
President & Managing Director, Texas Instruments India Pvt Ltd
Treasurer
Dr. Pradip K. Dutta
Corporate Vice President & Managing Director, Synopsys (I) Pvt Ltd
Advisor
Jaswinder S. Ahuja
Corporate Vice President & Managing Director India, Cadence Design Systems India
ISA President
Ms Poornima Shenoy
President, India Semiconductor Association
Anil Gupta
Managing Director, ARM Embedded Technologies Pvt. Ltd
Rajiv Kapur
Managing Director, Broadcom (I) Pvt. Ltd
Ganesh Guruswamy
Vice President & Country Manager, Freescale Semiconductor (I) Pvt. Ltd
S. Janakiraman
President & Group CEO – Product Engineering Services, Mindtree Ltd
Dr. Rajeewa Arya
Chief Executive Officer, Moser Baer (I) Ltd
Vivek Sharma
Vice President Asiapac-India Operation, Director India Design Centres, STMicroelectronics Pvt. Ltd
Saturday, September 27, 2008
BV Naidu quits SemIndia; what now of Indian fab story?
There's this report on DNA Money about BV Naidu, managing director of SemIndia Systems Pvt Ltd and SemIndia Fab Pvt Ltd having quit his job! This immediately begs the question: What now of the Indian fab story? Or, has it sunk without a trace?
There have been several questions raised in the past, as well as in the recent past, such as:
1. Is India's fab story going astray?
2. Why have fabs in India in the first place?
3. Can an Indian based fab take on the might of established global fabs? How will it be profitable in this climate?
4. What can an Indian fab produce unique, that other fabs cannot?
5. What has the Indian semicon policy achieved, when the Indian semicon industry was doing well, prior to the announcement of the policy?
6. What does India bring to the semicon world?
7. Why move to solar, when there's been no action of note for wafer IC fabs?
8. Why convert the Fabcity in Hyderabad, to Solarcity?
9. Solar/PV isn't exactly semiconductors, so why this hype about solar fabs? Is this being done to hide the lack of any success in semiconductor fabs?
Right! I am not here to provide the answers to such questions, nor am I qualified enough to address these! These are questions, if they are justifiable questions, to be answered by the industry! Rather, I will try and analyze what India has done and can do in semiconductors!
May I add here that according to the India Semiconductor Association, BV Naidu remains an active member of the Executive Council. BV Naidu himself informed me that he will be continuing at the board level at SemIndia, moving away from executive responsibilities. And, he will be continuing at the ISA. So that's good news!
Now back to the discussion!
First, yes, before and post the Indian semiconductor policy, India continues to do very well in semiconductors. Nearly every single MNC has its presence here; and no one that I know, has said that it has no plans to expand in India! Two, we have been traditionally very strong in design services and continue to remain so! Three, India is the emerging (or already emerged) embedded superstar!
Having a wafer IC fab isn't such a big deal, is it? So many folks have already moved on to fab-lite anyway! Yes, having one wafer IC fab would surely prop up India's image in the global semicon market, but well, not having one, won't sully India's image either!
If we do not get a fab, then let's just all accept that India was not ready for one, and let's move on! Life in semiconductors is much more than wafer fabs, as India's brilliant design services companies keep proving day in and day out!
I've said before in one of my blogs that doing product development is probably not India's strength! Design services surely is! Let's focus on our strength!
Will the moving out of BV Naidu from SemIndia effect the Indian industry? Why should it? Actually, far from it! Some companies in IP and other embedded areas are doing very well anyway. Let's give such companies their due credit! They've been present, much before the India Semiconductor Association was formed, or way long before the Indian semicon policy was born!
I interact regularly with the length and breadth of the Indian semiconductor industry. I've been covering this industry much before the India Semiconductor Association was even formed! If I remember correctly, I was among the three journalists present on the day the ISA was actually launched! Coming back to my point, I've yet to come across one person from the industry who does not understand the dynamics of this industry!
If a fab does not happen or someone leaves a company, that does not mean that there's been a failure. Maybe, it was a wrong choice to start off with! Perhaps, it just coincided with the turbulent global semiconductor industry. Or, simply, semiconductor was mistaken to be a commodity, which it is not!
India has had several investments in solar. Two days from now, there'll be a major solar/PV conference in New Delhi. Solar is within the ecosystem units of the Indian semicon policy, and it has attracted major investments. Yes, solar has to do with energy security, and in that regard, India could well be on the right path. However, that's just one small part of the complete story of the semicon policy!
As to whether India should focus on semicon OR solar, I am not the right person to comment or judge! Nor am I qualified enough to comment on 'why convert Fabcity to Solarcity'. Maybe, solar is being hyped in India right now. If yes, like any other industry, once it matures, the solar bubble will burst and consolidation will happen.
There are several other ecosystem unit definitions in the semicon policy. Some may and will happen. For those who are not aware, the "ecosystem units" have been clearly defined as units, other than a fab unit, for manufacture of semiconductors, displays including LCDs, OLEDs, PDPs, any other emerging displays; storage devices; solar cells; photovoltaics; other advanced micro and nanotechnology products; and assembly and test of all products.
The Indian semiconductor industry, as I see it, remains strong as before, fabs or no fabs! I don't equate solar with semiconductors, and maybe I am wrong here, but I do believe the two should be treated separately. Not a single solar company will probably feature in India's top 10 semiconductor companies! At least, not in my list! And, if a top executive leaves a company, why should it hamper the overall industry?
Frankly, it is the Ittiams, the MindTrees, the Cosmic Circuits', the eInfochips, and the SoftJins who continue to remain India's pride, even though they may be quite small in comparison to the global giants! At least, they have done India proud in their own way! Doesn't matter if these companies do not make great media copy! These are among the Indian semiconductor companies that continue to matter!
The India semiconductor story is something like this: Lots of high-end designs are being done here. In fact, lot of key decisions are now being made out of India. The talent pool is very much intact and growing! We are leaders in design services and embedded, make no mistake.
Now, does all of this indicate a recession or depression in the Indian semiconductor industry? Or, is it an indication of India's growing success -- fabs or no fabs? You decide!
There have been several questions raised in the past, as well as in the recent past, such as:
1. Is India's fab story going astray?
2. Why have fabs in India in the first place?
3. Can an Indian based fab take on the might of established global fabs? How will it be profitable in this climate?
4. What can an Indian fab produce unique, that other fabs cannot?
5. What has the Indian semicon policy achieved, when the Indian semicon industry was doing well, prior to the announcement of the policy?
6. What does India bring to the semicon world?
7. Why move to solar, when there's been no action of note for wafer IC fabs?
8. Why convert the Fabcity in Hyderabad, to Solarcity?
9. Solar/PV isn't exactly semiconductors, so why this hype about solar fabs? Is this being done to hide the lack of any success in semiconductor fabs?
Right! I am not here to provide the answers to such questions, nor am I qualified enough to address these! These are questions, if they are justifiable questions, to be answered by the industry! Rather, I will try and analyze what India has done and can do in semiconductors!
May I add here that according to the India Semiconductor Association, BV Naidu remains an active member of the Executive Council. BV Naidu himself informed me that he will be continuing at the board level at SemIndia, moving away from executive responsibilities. And, he will be continuing at the ISA. So that's good news!
Now back to the discussion!
First, yes, before and post the Indian semiconductor policy, India continues to do very well in semiconductors. Nearly every single MNC has its presence here; and no one that I know, has said that it has no plans to expand in India! Two, we have been traditionally very strong in design services and continue to remain so! Three, India is the emerging (or already emerged) embedded superstar!
Having a wafer IC fab isn't such a big deal, is it? So many folks have already moved on to fab-lite anyway! Yes, having one wafer IC fab would surely prop up India's image in the global semicon market, but well, not having one, won't sully India's image either!
If we do not get a fab, then let's just all accept that India was not ready for one, and let's move on! Life in semiconductors is much more than wafer fabs, as India's brilliant design services companies keep proving day in and day out!
I've said before in one of my blogs that doing product development is probably not India's strength! Design services surely is! Let's focus on our strength!
Will the moving out of BV Naidu from SemIndia effect the Indian industry? Why should it? Actually, far from it! Some companies in IP and other embedded areas are doing very well anyway. Let's give such companies their due credit! They've been present, much before the India Semiconductor Association was formed, or way long before the Indian semicon policy was born!
I interact regularly with the length and breadth of the Indian semiconductor industry. I've been covering this industry much before the India Semiconductor Association was even formed! If I remember correctly, I was among the three journalists present on the day the ISA was actually launched! Coming back to my point, I've yet to come across one person from the industry who does not understand the dynamics of this industry!
If a fab does not happen or someone leaves a company, that does not mean that there's been a failure. Maybe, it was a wrong choice to start off with! Perhaps, it just coincided with the turbulent global semiconductor industry. Or, simply, semiconductor was mistaken to be a commodity, which it is not!
India has had several investments in solar. Two days from now, there'll be a major solar/PV conference in New Delhi. Solar is within the ecosystem units of the Indian semicon policy, and it has attracted major investments. Yes, solar has to do with energy security, and in that regard, India could well be on the right path. However, that's just one small part of the complete story of the semicon policy!
As to whether India should focus on semicon OR solar, I am not the right person to comment or judge! Nor am I qualified enough to comment on 'why convert Fabcity to Solarcity'. Maybe, solar is being hyped in India right now. If yes, like any other industry, once it matures, the solar bubble will burst and consolidation will happen.
There are several other ecosystem unit definitions in the semicon policy. Some may and will happen. For those who are not aware, the "ecosystem units" have been clearly defined as units, other than a fab unit, for manufacture of semiconductors, displays including LCDs, OLEDs, PDPs, any other emerging displays; storage devices; solar cells; photovoltaics; other advanced micro and nanotechnology products; and assembly and test of all products.
The Indian semiconductor industry, as I see it, remains strong as before, fabs or no fabs! I don't equate solar with semiconductors, and maybe I am wrong here, but I do believe the two should be treated separately. Not a single solar company will probably feature in India's top 10 semiconductor companies! At least, not in my list! And, if a top executive leaves a company, why should it hamper the overall industry?
Frankly, it is the Ittiams, the MindTrees, the Cosmic Circuits', the eInfochips, and the SoftJins who continue to remain India's pride, even though they may be quite small in comparison to the global giants! At least, they have done India proud in their own way! Doesn't matter if these companies do not make great media copy! These are among the Indian semiconductor companies that continue to matter!
The India semiconductor story is something like this: Lots of high-end designs are being done here. In fact, lot of key decisions are now being made out of India. The talent pool is very much intact and growing! We are leaders in design services and embedded, make no mistake.
Now, does all of this indicate a recession or depression in the Indian semiconductor industry? Or, is it an indication of India's growing success -- fabs or no fabs? You decide!
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