| |SEPTEMBER 202219As a glimmer of hope, India has recently received proposals to the tune of $20.5 billion from five companies for manufacturing of semiconductor fabs and display fabs indigenouslycomponents imported, the manufacturing facilities have been reduced to mere assembly units. Close to 80 percent of the components comprising processors, cameras, and memory chips are being imported. Consequently, the net value addition by production units is paltry 5-15 percent. This is because in electronics manufacturing, most of the value-adding processes are executed before assembly stage. So, the need of the hour is to start building the foundation for ultimate competence in electronics manufacturing. The first and foremost thing to do is setting-up of semiconductor fabrication plants to produce microchips. In India, these fabrication plants are only present at Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) with their use only meant for space and defence systems. Setting-up the foundries is a challenge as it demands huge capital expenditure. The domestic players have so far refrained from venturing into this field owing to their incapability to compete with the global behemoths in this area. Hence, in addition to rolling out a chain of production linked incentive schemes (PLI) for finished goods, steps ought to be taken to incentivize semiconductor fabrication as well. Moreover, effort also needs to be made to invite chip manufacturers like Intel and TSMC to set-up foundries in India by creating a business environment that can offer better cost efficiency. As a glimmer of hope, India has recently received proposals to the tune of $20.5 billion from five companies for manufacturing of semiconductor fabs and display fabs indigenously. Investments worth more than $13 billion are in store by companies including Vedanta in joint venture with Foxconn, Singapore-based IGSS Ventures Pte, and ISMC for manufacturing of chips. The chips will find their application in numerous industries ranging from 5G devices to electric cars.Dwindling Product Life As the lifecycles of electronic products continue to shrink, manufacturers are faced with the challenge of incessantly churning out newer and refurbished versions of the product. This is a challenge that can be overcome by leveraging technology. Product lifecycle management (PLM) has proven to be the right tool for streamlining the product development process and achieving enhanced efficiency. The nature of work of the electronics industry demands collaboration between teams of different disciplines. Those who are responsible for design must engage with their mechanical and electrical counterparts to create products that are functionally robust. At the same time, to ascertain that the product is fit for market and viable from profitability standpoint, it must be weighed on the financial and marketing scale. PLM solutions have the capability of creating such collaborative environment wherein product development can gain the required momentum. With better communication strategy and integration, the time to market of the products can be reduced significantly. Moreover, the information sharing also makes it easy to identify and resolve the pain points while zeroing in on the program risks and alleviating them.Transition toward SustainabilityThe challenges with regard to sustainability are primarily two-fold in electronics manufacturing. Firstly, the industry has to figure out efficient and viable ways of reuse and recycling. Given the pace at which new disruptive technologies are emerging, the scope of reuse is confined. Recycling on the other hand has yet to find viable methodology for realization of the RoI of the whole process. According to a UN estimate, electrical and electronic (EE) waste generated every year is 50 million tonnes and only 20 percent of it is recycled. Although e-waste comprises two percent of solid waste streams, it accounts for 70 percent of the hazardous waste in a landfill. Hence, recycling them for manufacturing purpose is a herculean task. The only way forward can be to revamp the manufacturing process right from beginning i.e the design phase. By making the design process aligned with circular economy expectations, provisions can be made for easier recyclability of electronic products. Secondly, there are concerns pertaining to the performance of electronic products in terms of energy usage and emission of greenhouse gases. As the manufacturing process gets more sophisticated, reducing the energy consumption is going to be a difficult nut to crack in terms of the components to be used. Moreover, a challenge would also lie in meeting the fast changing standards of new regulations. The riddle of energy efficiency could best be solved by usage of power semiconductor devices, sensors, and microcontrollers. On the emission front, steps will have to be taken to constricting the emission of fluorinated gases from the manufacturing process. Looking at the future, it can be envisaged that the goal of $300 billion worth of manufacturing is indeed plausible if the approach is an amalgam of right strategy and vision both from the industry as well as the government.
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