Hardware
Convergence India: Take Digital India to rural areas, say experts
NEW DELHI: Leading experts from the telecom, broadcast and digital media industry stressed the need for Digital India to reach rural areas.
Taking part in various sessions at the 23rd Convergence India 2015 Expo on its second day, the experts also stressed the need for green telecom.
Over 120 senior executives exchanged views on topics namely, Green Telecom in Digital India, TV white space & it’s utility for mobile services, M2M Adoption, OTT- Transforming the future of TV and TV Vas—Drive for growth of Digital TV.
Speaking at the forum, Communications and Information Technology Scientist G & Group Coordinator, Department of Electronics & IT BM Baveja said, “Proliferation of broadband to rural masses is needed and this technology can be further exploited for the vision of Digital India to come into light.”
One of the path breaking sessions of the day was the “CEO’s Power Panel” themed as “Next Gen Television: Reshaping content with new solutions for multiscreen content delivery and interactive experiences.”
Appear TV CEO Carl Walter Holst said, “One of the great challenges that is present in the multi-screen world is that you really have to send all of the signals at the same time in different formats.”
Exhibitions India Group chairman Prem Behl, which has organized the expo, said, “Convergence India 2015 expo will aid in knowledge sharing, trend forecasting, business development setting the future roadmap for a Digital India.”
The 2015 exhibition has attracted over 400 companies and their CEOs from 30 countries including Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, UAE, UK, USA, to name a few showcasing the latest trends and technologies in broadband, telecom, cable, satellite, digital India, cloud computing, VAS, LTE Networks etc. Over 15,000 trade visitors are expected to visit the expo over 3 days.
Hardware
India clears Rs 1.6 lakh crore semiconductor projects under Semicon India
Ten projects cleared as production begins and design ecosystem gathers pace
NEW DELHI: India’s push to become a global electronics powerhouse is gaining momentum, with the Semicon India Programme driving the creation of a full-fledged semiconductor ecosystem from design to manufacturing.
Launched in 2022, the programme aims to build capabilities across the entire value chain, including chip design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging. In just four years, the government has approved 10 semiconductor projects with a combined investment commitment of around Rs 1.6 lakh crore.
Two of these facilities have already begun commercial production, including units led by Micron Technology Inc. and Kaynes Technology India Limited. Two more plants are expected to go live later this year, signalling that India’s chip ambitions are moving from blueprint to factory floor.
The broader electronics manufacturing story has also seen sharp growth over the past decade. Production has jumped from roughly Rs 1.9 lakh crore in 2014-15 to about Rs 12 lakh crore in 2024-25, while exports have surged nearly eightfold. Mobile phone manufacturing, once heavily import-dependent, now meets almost all domestic demand and has become a major export driver.
Alongside manufacturing, the government is investing heavily in design capabilities. Through access to advanced chip design tools provided free to 315 universities, students and researchers have clocked over 200 lakh hours of usage. This effort has already resulted in 211 chip tape-outs from 75 institutions.
Support for startups is also picking up pace. Twenty-four chip design projects have been approved, targeting sectors such as surveillance, energy, communications and IoT. Of these, 14 companies have collectively raised over Rs 650 crore in venture funding, while several designs have progressed to fabrication, including at advanced nodes.
To strengthen supply chains, India has also signed semiconductor cooperation agreements with countries including the United States, Japan, the European Union, Singapore and the Netherlands. These partnerships aim to reduce global dependencies while boosting domestic capabilities.
The employment impact is equally significant. The electronics sector now supports an estimated 25 lakh jobs, with mobile manufacturing alone accounting for nearly half. As more semiconductor units come online under the India Semiconductor Mission, indirect job creation across supply chains is expected to rise further.
Sharing these updates in Parliament, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology minister of state Jitin Prasada underscored the government’s focus on building a resilient, end-to-end semiconductor ecosystem.
With factories taking shape, designs moving to silicon and investments flowing in, India’s semiconductor story is steadily shifting gears from ambition to execution.
