India -- emerging hub for global electronics

INDIA: Messe Muenchen International India Pvt Ltd inaugurated electronica India 2011 & productronica India 2011, India’s leading trade fair for the electronics industry in India and South Asia at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The trade fair once again emerged as India’s largest electronics platform for production technologies, electronic manufacturing services, power electronics and electronic components.

The chief guest for the occasion, P.S.Narotra, senior director and head, International Corp. & Electronics Hardware Industry, Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communication & IT, Government of India, inaugurated the event.

Other dignitaries present were Jaideep Ghosh, partner KPMG, A. Vijayendra, MD, IPC, Ramana Rao, president, LED Products & Manufacturer’s Association (LEDMA), Rajoo Goel, secretary general, ELCINA, Dr. Martin Lechner, executive director of Business Unit New Technologies-Messe Muenchen International.

The exhibition opened with a high profile conference which saw enthusiastic participation from the leading lights of India’s fastest growing telecom and electronic manufacturers. The 6th International conference on EMS (Electronic Manufacturing Services) and Contract Manufacturing, provided vital insights from an Indian perspective. It reiterated the fact that the demand for electronic gadgets, appliances and equipment is growing briskly and companies are increasingly turning to EMS firms to feed this growing pipeline. Much of this growth has been propelled by the burgeoning demand for telecom equipment and consumer products, including mobile handsets.

The conference showcased two interactive panel discussions; the first covered ‘Local Mobile Phone Manufacturing-Opportunity or Challenge’, with a distinguished panel, including Jaideep Ghosh, partner with KPMG, Ajjay Agarwal, MD of Maxx Mobile, Khalid Zamir, AVP – Mobile Division of Videocon, Manoj Pant, director of Operations in Starion, T.C Sudhir, executive director of WIWO Mobile, and Balasubramanium, director at QUAD Electronics.

They highlighted the exciting opportunities open to the local mobile phone and component manufacturers, despite the ever changing market dynamics and challenges presented. An ecosystem created with a favorable policy environment coupled with a strong R&D focus can push the country’s play in manufacturing in the global arena.

The second discussion glossed over ‘EMS Business-Can India become a global hub for EMS?!’ and the panel included Atul Lall, MD of Dixon, Christopher Johnson, operations director at JABIL, Jairam Sampath, chief of operations, KAYNES, A. Gururaj, director at QUAD, Suresh Nair, CTO of SFO Technologies and Sanjiv Narayan, MD of SGS Technologies.

With electronic hardware manufacturing in India slated to reach $155 billion by 2015 and the Indian semiconductor design industry providing employment opportunities to over 780,000 professionals, the exhibition and conference provided a great opportunity to the members of the electronics industry to strengthen their network and conduct business. The event continued to see an increase in participation as compared to last year’s exhibition as well.

“The Government of India is very serious about development of the electronics industry in the country. Empowered committees has been set up to promote the semiconductor wafer manufacturing facilities, with a preference to technology know-how that resides within India, “said P.S. Narotra. “A $5 billion fund has also been allocated to support the private sector in the areas of innovation, R&D and IPR, under the aegis of the ‘National Electronics Mission.”

electronica India 2011 and productronica India 2011 played host to over 900 exhibitors with country pavilions from China, Germany, Hong Kong Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. The event also witnessed participation from Japan, Switzerland, USA, Italy, Spain, and Malaysia, all together from 25 countries.

Major players exhibiting this year include Agilent Technologies, element14, Infineon Technologies, Juki India, Kaynes Technology, Leaptech Corporation, National Instruments, NMTtronics, NXP Semiconductiors, Panasonic Corporation, RS Components & Controls, Rohde & Schwarz India, STMicroelectronics, Sony, TATA Power.