By EB Bureau
Monday, December 30, 2013: Semiconductor manufacturing is highly capital-intensive. In this sector, technology cycles move at a very fast pace. Therefore, there needs to be a constant stream of capital and innovation to keep the industry moving forward. For any high technology industry, the foundation for competitiveness is technology differentiation. Companies need to embrace technological opportunities to benefit from innovations and remain competitive.
A skilled workforce is also imperative. Semiconductor manufacturing is a specialised area, for which we need to develop the talent ecosystem. Currently, there is a big gap in this area due to the lack of a hi-tech manufacturing ecosystem. There are initiatives to address the semiconductor design requirements through the National Skills Development Corporation and the special manpower development programme in VLSI, but these do not cover semiconductor manufacturing. Applied Materials has teamed up with IIT Bombay to launch India’s first hands-on semiconductor manufacturing certification course in 2012.
To target at a more advanced level, India needs a scaled R&D facility to develop technologies and train resources in both practical and theoretical aspects. India should leverage examples from around the world on how this has been successfully implemented, for example by IMEC in Europe, ITRI in Taiwan and IME in Singapore.
“To reach a more advanced level in chip manufacturing, India needs a scaled R&D facility to develop technologies and train manpower in both practical and theoretical aspects. India should follow the examples from around the world like IMEC in Europe, ITRI in Taiwan and IME in Singapore,” says Aninda Moitra, president, Applied Materials India.
