India Gearing Up for Big Supercomputing Expansion

[Gautam]

‘Param Shivay’ Supercomputer to Speed up Research Work at IIT-BHU
By
Longjam Dineshwori
-
February 20, 2019

The supercomputer has been built at the cost of Rs 32.5 crore under the National Super Computing Mission.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated Param Shivay, a supercomputer of 833 teraflop capacity at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

The supercomputer has been built at the cost of Rs 32.5 crore under the National Super Computing Mission, The Indian Express reported.

As per the report, the ‘Param Shivay’ will include 1 peta byte secondary storage and appropriate open source system and application software suite using 223 processor nodes, 384 GB per node DDR4 RAM, parallel file system, including CPU and GPU.

Scientists, teachers and research students, government research laboratories, and engineering colleges adjacent to IIT-BHU can avail benefits of the projects. About 40 per cent computer power will be used by the students of Navodaya Vidyalaya.

The institute claims that the supercomputer centre will take care of the problems of common man related to relevant social issues such as irrigation schemes, traffic management and health.

“The National Supercomputer Mission (NSM) is an important initiative taken by the Government of India. The initiative supports Governments ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’ and will also play an important role in keeping India in forefront of the world’s super-computing map,” said IIT-BHU Director Prof. Pramod Kumar Jain.

He added that through this supercomputer, the research which earlier took months to complete now could be done in hours or minutes.
India launched its first supercomputer called PARAM 8000 in 1991. Now, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology has supercomputer called Pratyush, National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting has Mihir and IISc has SERC-Cray.

‘Param Shivay’ Supercomputer to Speed up Research Work at IIT-BHU

 

[Gautam]

C-DAC sees demand for Param Shavak from states

In the past year, the agency has installed over 100 of these units and C-DAC Director General Hemant Darbari said that they were on track to install another 100 of these in 2019.
Priyanka Sangani | ETtech | January 16, 2019, 07:00 IST

India's super computing solution in a box - Param Shavak has seen demand increase from state governments to install them in universities and colleges for students to work on applications in areas such as bioinformatics and weather analysis, besides Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality.

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) said that it was seeing increased interest from state governments for Param Shavak, which was first launched in 2015. In the past year, the agency has installed over 100 of these units and CDAC Director General Hemant Darbari said that they were on track to install another 100 of these in 2019.

While in the initial days it was the institutes that were directly placing orders, now the state governments are stepping in and placing bulk orders.

“We received an order for ten Param Shavak’s from the Department of Science and Technology in Gujarat. They will then distribute this to engineering colleges and other institutes within the state,” he said. Similarly, C-DAC had received an order for eight of these from the Department of Skill Development and Higher Education in Odisha.

Darbari said that the capabilities of the supercomputers too had been upgraded, from only offering high performance computing(HPC) to adding artificial intelligence and virtual reality capabilities as well. Some of the early applications of the Param Shavak include being used for research and developing biotech and biomedical applications.

The Param Shavak was introduced a few years ago to make supercomputing more accessible for educational and research institutes in India. It is available in a single server table top model and doesn’t require a separate data center unlike a full-scale supercomputer and aims to provide high performance computing capabilities for engineering and scientific applications to catalyse research using modelling, simulation and data analysis. Developed by the C-DAC team in Pune, this is a stripped-down version of its Param supercomputer.

Significantly cheaper than the Param supercomputer, this has a peak computing power of three teraflops, as compared to the Param Yuva II supercomputer which has a peak of 524 teraflops.

Having access to a Param Shavak at the institute level often serves as the first step of introducing students to the possibilities of what they can do with HPC and allows them to create basic applications which could then be used on a supercomputer as well. These machines are an important part of the application creation process under India’s National Supercomputing Mission, where applications are being developed and tested on the Param Shavak supercomputers and would be ready to be used on the supercomputers once they are ready later this year.


C-DAC sees demand for Param Shavak from states - ETtech

 

[Gautam]

PARAM-Shavak is an excellent product though. Very beneficial for budding scientists in the country.
PARAM Shavak - Supercomputing Solution in a Box

Many technical institutes are already using it. Here is Tezpur University"s Shavak unit :

In early 2018 C-DAC launched a new version of Shavak with VR, AI research in mind.

Over all I like what C-DAC is doing and my only real complaint is that they are a little too slow to changing market needs.
Oh and they were also involved with the DRDO-NPOL-Navy project of an AIP system nased on PAFC unit.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1087288728291237889

 

[Gautam]

Meet Subhash Kak, AI Visionary & Inventor Of Quantum Neural Computing Who Won The Padma Shri

 

[Gautam]

Possibility of India emerging as a chip design hub is now more real than ever: Sateesh Andra

1 min read . Updated: 21 Aug 2019, 12:55 AM IST Sateesh Andra

Local startups, with academia-industry participation, are designing, developing and testing chipsets and microprocessors, says Sateesh Andra, MD, Endiya Partners(what a name )

Sateesh Andra, managing director, Endiya Partners

The semiconductor industry is witnessing growth at breakneck speed with the adoption of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, autonomous vehicles, robotics, and augmented reality and virtual reality.

The US is the leader in the semiconductor segment, with firms such as Qualcomm, Nvidia, and Intel. China, on the other hand, is the world’s largest purchaser. It has established its dominance in the hardware and semiconductor ecosystem. Experts predict the adoption of local Chinese semiconductors jumping to 70% by 2025.

However, the recent trade spat between the US and China may well be a boon for India’s semiconductor sector.

Does this mean that opportunity beckons for India? India certainly has momentum in lieu of entrepreneurial mindset, adequate talent, and structural reforms. And with increasing demands, the need for India to transform itself into a semiconductor powerhouse, and not just a consumer, has never been so starkly prominent.

The government has taken steps to jump-start semiconductor startups with the creation of the Electronics Development Fund. Local startups, with academia-industry participation, are designing, developing and testing chipsets and microprocessors. One hopes to see the rise of new-age chip companies that addresses the Indian as well as global markets.

The million-dollar question is, can Indian semiconductor startups can handle competition on an equal footing amid limited availability of equity?

In spite of the many teething snags, the policies have been rolled out to facilitate the idea of India’s homegrown chip start-up ecosystem. The possibility of India emerging as the next chip design hub is now more real than ever.

‘Possibility of India emerging as a chip design hub is now more real than ever’

 

[Gautam]

India building its own supercomputers, says DST secretary

12 September 2019 Last Updated at 8:40 pm | Source: PTI
New Delhi

India is building supercomputers instead of procuring them from foreign countries, Department of Science and Technology Secretary Ashutosh Sharma said on Thursday.
Two computers are already functional at IIT-BHU and IIT-Kharagpur (1.6 petaflops), while the third will be assembled at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune by the end of the week.

In an interaction with reporters here, Sharma said the project is worth Rs 4,500 crore and it is being implemented in three phases.

Under phase one, the initial plan was to buy three computers and build three. However the purchase was delayed, leading to an escalation in cost which prompted the DST to go for the "build" model with greater integration and focus on indigenisation, a senior scientist said.

Accordingly, the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) floated Request for Proposal and a company procured material for six supercomputers.

C-DAC is also credited with building the first supercomputer, Param, in India.

"The original plan was to import supercomputers but the last three years give us the confidence that we can start building them ourselves. So the new direction is six supercomputers are being built in India," he said.

Sharma said under the phase one, integration and assembly is being done at the motherboard level.

The second phase would kickstart next year and most of the parts would be assembled and integrated within the country, except the chips, Sharma said.

"Under phase three, we will be pretty much making your own supercomputer, except the chips," Sharma said.

With every step the level of indigenisation will increase.

Elaborating on the import of the chips, he said it would be designed within the country.

In 2015, the government approved the National Supercomputing Mission under which it was envisaged to have supercomputers in different institutions across the country to facilitate research involving high-power computing.

The plan is to have the total capacity of 70 petaflops and 40-60 supercomputers depending on the location and capacity.

India building its own supercomputers, says DST secretary

 

[randomradio]

India building its own supercomputers, says DST secretary

12 September 2019 Last Updated at 8:40 pm | Source: PTI
New Delhi

India is building supercomputers instead of procuring them from foreign countries, Department of Science and Technology Secretary Ashutosh Sharma said on Thursday.
Two computers are already functional at IIT-BHU and IIT-Kharagpur (1.6 petaflops), while the third will be assembled at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune by the end of the week.

In an interaction with reporters here, Sharma said the project is worth Rs 4,500 crore and it is being implemented in three phases.

Under phase one, the initial plan was to buy three computers and build three. However the purchase was delayed, leading to an escalation in cost which prompted the DST to go for the "build" model with greater integration and focus on indigenisation, a senior scientist said.

Accordingly, the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) floated Request for Proposal and a company procured material for six supercomputers.

C-DAC is also credited with building the first supercomputer, Param, in India.

"The original plan was to import supercomputers but the last three years give us the confidence that we can start building them ourselves. So the new direction is six supercomputers are being built in India," he said.

Sharma said under the phase one, integration and assembly is being done at the motherboard level.

The second phase would kickstart next year and most of the parts would be assembled and integrated within the country, except the chips, Sharma said.

"Under phase three, we will be pretty much making your own supercomputer, except the chips," Sharma said.

With every step the level of indigenisation will increase.

Elaborating on the import of the chips, he said it would be designed within the country.

In 2015, the government approved the National Supercomputing Mission under which it was envisaged to have supercomputers in different institutions across the country to facilitate research involving high-power computing.

The plan is to have the total capacity of 70 petaflops and 40-60 supercomputers depending on the location and capacity.

India building its own supercomputers, says DST secretary

By the time they build it, 70 petaflops is not going to be enough.

 

[Gautam]

India's First Three (Out of 60) Supercomputers Are Here

 

[Gautam]

Weebit Nano to partner with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi on a Neuromorphic RRAM project

Israel-based SiOx RRAM developer Weebit Nano announced that it will partner with the Non-Volatile Memory Research Group of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) to work jointly on a Neuromorphic RRAM project.

The NVMRG group will research the use of Weebit Nano’s SiOx RRAM technology for certain types of neuromorphic applications, which are used for artificial intelligence. RRAM devices are very promising candidates for enabling high-density and ultimately scaled synaptic arrays in neuromorphic architectures as they are significantly smaller and more energy efficient than current AI data centers, and mimic the brain’s biological computation at the neuron and synaptic level.

Weebit Nano to partner with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi on a Neuromorphic RRAM project | RRAM-Info

more on this here :

https://www.eetindia.co.in/news/art...rtners-with-Weebit-Nano-on-Neuromorphic-ReRAM

For those who don't know about ReRAM. ReRAMs are considered candidates for next generation of memory devices which are non volatile but has speed near to those of DRAM. Such devices allows for new computer architectures which are called Non Von Neumann Architectures. One such architecture is called "neuromorphic computing" which mimics how neuron in human brain function. Another example is HPE "The machine concept".

As Moore's law hits its limit and with emergence AI and Machine learning, the computing is slowly moving to something called as memory driven computing. Devices such as ReRAM will play a crucial part in such forms of computing. Even for present architectures, ReRAM can boost the speed and reduce power consumption by a large factor. They can used make persistent or non volatile RAM (NVRAM) which will lead to creation of devices where your primary storage or boot drive itself is the RAM.

 

[Gautam]

India Branching Out into Chip Design

By Nitin Dahad,
09.13.19

This week, Indian analog and mixed-signal design services firm Sankalp Semiconductor was acquired in an all-cash deal by HCL Technologies, one of the country’s leading IT outsourcing firms, for just over US$25 million. The acquisition is part of the latter’s strategic plans to expand into newer market domains and offer a wider range of services to its customers in the analog and mixed signal space.

Sankalp Semiconductor CEO Samir Patel said, “The strategic acquisition will enable synergies between engineering teams allowing us to offer a broader semiconductor know-how to a wider variety of customers. The joined forces will enable deeper engagements with customers in the end-to-end digital and mixed signal design space.”

The deal points to a continued emergence of chip design firms in India moving beyond simply providing offshore design centers for the likes of Texas Instruments and Intel from the mid-1980s onwards, and later on for EDA firms like Cadence and Synopsys. For many global firms, India was a natural center for software engineering talent, and to apply huge numbers of people to turn the handle on large development projects.

But the alumni from these design centers started branching out on their own, and now seem to be part of a small but growing network of serial chip firm entrepreneurs spreading their tentacles. For example, you’ll find ex-Texas Instruments engineers and managers in many of the current generation of chip startups in India, some having been in multiple ventures already.

Sankalp was for example founded by Vivek Pawar, who was at TI for over 15 years before starting the mixed signal design firm. Samir Patel, who started Rambus India and ran it for 15 years, became CEO of Sankalp in 2013, after establishing the latter’s North America office.

One of the earlier star Indian chip performers was Cosmic Circuits, co-founded by four ex-Texas Instruments engineering managers in 2005. This was a Bangalore-based analog mixed signal intellectual property (IP) cores firm which was acquired by Cadence Design Services in May 2013. Lip-Bu Tan, the EDA firm’s chief executive officer, had seen the promise of India in 2011 when he invested in Cosmic Circuits. At the time he had said he was very excited about Cosmic and saw the potential for India to produce world class chip companies.

Interestingly, two of the co-founders of Cosmic then also joined the Sankalp management team in the last two years, presumably to add their experience in preparing a company for acquisition. In fact, it’s quite possible that CEO Samir Patel was alluding to this when he said early in 2018 at an event in Santa Clara, California, that he saw the potential in the sector for more acquisitions or even an IPO on India’s stock market, noting the success of optical networks systems developer Tejas Networks in 2017.

One of Cosmic’s co-founders, Ganapathy Subramaniam, continued to work with Lip-Bu Tan’s venture capital firm WRVI Capital as a partner, with a particular focus on India. One of the investments he leads is Aura Semiconductor, a fabless semiconductor firm providing ICs for IoT radios, timing and portable audio, founded by ex-Silicon Labs engineers Srinath Sridharan and Kishore Ganti. Adding to his portfolio, Subramaniam is also chairman of Cirel Systems, another Bangalore-based fabless firm developing mixed-signal ASICs and standard products for power management and front-end ICs for MEMS sensors.

India’s first 5G chips

Another TI alumni-founded form is Signalchip, which earlier this year claimed to have designed India’s first chips for 4G/LTE and 5G NR modems, launched after eight years of development. The firm released four chips, a single chip 4G/LTE modem, including the baseband and transceiver sections in a single device; a single chip 4X4 LTE baseband modem; a 2X2 transceiver for LTE; and a 2X2 transceiver for 5G NR standards. The RF sections cover all LTE/5G-NR bands up to 6GHz. The chips also support positioning using India’s own satellite navigation system, NavIC.

It’s not just TI alumni starting on their own

The TI and Cosmic Circuits group represent just one branch in the expanding Indian chip design family tree. Saankhya Labs, a developer of software defined radio chipsets, was co-founded in 2006 by engineers with backgrounds at Philips Software, Genesis Microchip (which was acquired by STMicroelectronics) and Synopsys. Saankhya Labs recently announced it is developing a 5G next-generation broadcast offload platform for ONE Media 3.0, a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group. The Indian wireless chip firm is developing an end-to-end network platform including radio nodes and mobile end user devices; the platform will enable 4G and 5G wireless operators to offload over-the-top (OTT) and live content dynamically onto 'one-to-many' broadcast digital terrestrial transmission (DTT) networks.

Last year, Ahmedabad, Gujarat based IoT design services firm eInfochips, was acquired by Arrow Electronics in January 2018, for a reported $280 million. Founder and CEO Pratul Shroff started his career as a logic designer in the microprocessor group at Intel, followed by some time at Daisy Systems.

Tessolve Semiconductor, which provides chip and embedded systems design as well as test and product engineering, was co-founded by three engineering managers with experience at Texas Instruments, National Semiconductor, Motorola and Cirrus Logic. Acquired by Hero Electronix in 2016, it has over 1,500 engineers and claims it serves eight of the top 10 semiconductor companies globally. Hero Electronix is the technology ventures arm of the motorcycles and mobility solutions Hero Group.

The birth of a silicon ecosystem ?

What does all this mean? Does the expansion of the Texas Instruments ‘children’ in India – the fabless and chip design startups that emerged from ex-TI engineers and managers – have any parallel whatsoever to the emergence of the Fairchild ‘children’ in California which gave rise to Silicon Valley’s silicon ecosystem which has come to dominate the global technology world?

Sateesh Andra, managing director of Indian early-stage venture capital firm Endiya Partners thinks the trade war between the US and China is an opportunity for India to boost its credentials as a chip design hub. Endiya last year invested $1 million in Bangalore-based startup Steradian Semiconductor, founded by a team of ex-TI and Qualcomm staff, who have over 50 patents between them ranging from GPS to LTE-Advanced; the firm claims to have developed the world’s most compact 28nm mmWave imaging radar chip to enable 4D imaging.

While there are various government incentives and initiatives as part of the national electronics policy and also ‘Make in India’, Andra, writing in an Indian magazine, thinks that it is an opportunity that’s more real than ever, but the lack of equity could be a hindrance.

From my own observations as I have followed the Indian electronics industry since 1993, is that while ambition is clearly present, there still needs to be a shift in cultural attitudes towards investing appropriate sums of money into the chip ecosystem. Money is abundant for the latest digital app startup that serves consumers in India, but electronics design startups are still a poor second cousin, despite the successes of some of the TI children.

https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1335105#

 

[Gautam]

MediaTek to Design More Chipsets in India After Helio G90

By Kishalaya Kundu
September 30, 2019 6:48 pm

Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company, MediaTek, is all set to bring its gaming-focused ‘Helio G90’ chipset series to India in partnership with Chinese tech major, Xiaomi. According to a senior MediaTek executive, the entire design, SoC integration and gaming software of the MediaTek Helio G90 series have been designed and developed at the company’s R&D facility in Bengaluru.

Speaking to IANS, the General Manager of MediaTek India, Rituparna Mandal, said that the company is also working towards designing more smartphone processors in India going forward. “There are many more smartphone chips in the pipeline aimed to be designed in India. To do that, you need the right engineering talent and leadership. That’s where the investment comes – in hiring the right talent to grow the design teams to be able to work on the chips”, she said.

The Helio G90 chip, which Mandal said took around six months to design, is slated to debut in India next month as part of a partnership between MediaTek and Xiaomi. According to reports from earlier this year, the Chinese tech giant is set to become the first company to launch a smartphone powered by the new India-designed Helio G90T, which MediaTek claims offers 10 percent better results than the Snapdragon 730G on Geekbench 4.1.

Talking about the Helio G90, Mandal said: “Helio G90 has an Octa Core design and the first MediaTek product which has the ‘Arm Cortex A76 plus’ processor going up to speeds of over 2.05Ghz. We worked on the complete designing as well as the overall chip integration. The overall timeline was extremely aggressive”. She also said that the company is looking to ramp up its headcount in India as part of its efforts to increase its R&D efforts in the country.

With inputs from IANS

MediaTek Designing More Chipsets in India After Helio G90 | Beebom

 

[Gautam]

Why Has India Lagged Behind In Semiconductor Chip Manufacturing?

Published by Vishal Chawla
Aug 21, 2019 10:54 am

While India has done well in terms of chip design and electronics manufacturing, there have been challenges in setting up of Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication (FAB) units for a long time.

Digital age has propelled the world into consuming electronics at an unprecedented scale. There will be worldwide shipments of devices — PCs, tablets and mobile phones — totaling 2.2 billion units in 2019. All of these gadgets require semiconductor chips to function, and it is clear that economies with a large production of these chips have benefited the most in terms of enhancing their GDP. US, Japan, Korea, China, Singapore, etc are all large producers of semiconductor chips and also have a strong foothold on the global economy.

Where Does India Stand ?

While India has done well in terms of chip design and electronics manufacturing, there have been challenges in setting up of Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication (FAB) units in India for a long time. This is due to multiple factors, including not just the lack of infrastructure and skilled labour in the country. It is also difficult to compete with neighbouring countries like China and Vietnam which have been favourite destinations for global chip manufacturers due to better cost-efficiency. It is for these reasons that Intel stated in 2014 it had no interest in starting manufacturing in India.

Attempts to set up semiconductor fab units here by private companies in the country :

• Hindustan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (HSMC), a consortium of companies that included ST Microelectronics and Silterra Malaysia was aiming kickstart chip manufacturing plant in Gujarat, a project worth ₹30,000 crore. The government in 2019 cancelled the letter of intent granted to HSMC and now there is no such proposal from any private company to initiate such a project. The reason was that the consortium could not submit the required documents asked by the government for setting up of Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication (FAB) unit. HSMC had been backed by AMD and has also received ₹700 crore in funding from Mumbai-based Next Orbit Ventures.
• Then there was another consortium led by Jaiprakash Associates, which partnered with IBM and Tower Semiconductor of Israel to start chip manufacturing in UP. In 2016, debt-ridden Jaiprakash (JP) Associates has pulled out of the ₹34,000-crore. If the only two private sector consortiums cleared by the government to establish large scale chip manufacturing in the country could not make it happen, then it’s certainly a bad indicator to why India is lagging behind in the space.

What Are The Hurdles ?

One of the biggest hurdles in setting up fab manufacturing units is the fact that it requires massive investment. In addition to the huge cost, running in billions of dollars, manufacturing even a single chip requires hundreds of gallons of pure water, which may also be hard to find in India in the required quantities. An uninterrupted power supply is another major hurdle. The heart of the issue is that India is still not unto the par in terms of the basic infrastructure needed to pursue endeavours in the chip manufacturing space. There is also constant price pressure from other global players, particularly China which is also building a homegrown chip program for the adoption of local semiconductors in 70% of its products by 2025.

Dearth Of Talent In Chip Manufacturing

It’s not like India does not possess the scientific capabilities to manufacture semiconductor chips. In fact, the level of technical know-how is so high that the government even considered a ₹2,500 crore feasible study based on Gallium Nitride semiconductor fab at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in order to build a local semiconductor industry. Gallium Nitride based semiconductors skip altogether the already mature silicon-based fab technology dominated by countries like US and China.

While large scale semiconductor manufacturers face challenges to take off, several startups building chips for embedded systems like IoT and telephony on a much smaller scale are also disrupting the scene. There are many prominent startups here like Signalchip, a semiconductor company also based in Bengaluru, which rolled out 4G and 5G modem chips. Saankhya Labs, is another Bengaluru-based startup that has been creating chipsets for use in defence, satellite communication and broadcast. Another one is a microprocessor called Shakti, developed at IIT Madras which can be used in mobile computing devices, embedded low power wireless systems like smartphones, surveillance cameras and networking systems.

Overview

Clearly, there is no dearth of talent when it comes to India becoming a dominant player in semiconductor chip manufacturing. Yet, the country has struggled to find a way to establish fab units needed for large scale manufacturing. Now, with the rising demand for electronics, India is a large net importer of semiconductor chips. In fact, experts say that India is spending more money on import of semiconductor than on oil. The way to reduce the dependency on chip imports is to create semiconductor manufacturing units within the country. Here, the government needs to make sure there is proper infrastructure and investments are made so that scalable manufacturing units can be created. We also need to look at the success story of China in semiconductor manufacturing and take lessons.

Why Has India Lagged Behind In Semiconductor Chip Manufacturing?

 

[Gautam]

Can The Land Of The Ancient Seers Become Semiconductor Enlightened ?

Published by Raj Kumar
Oct 2, 2019 5:00 pm

India has long been an oasis for the world’s spiritual journeys. That story reaches back from the ancient Chinese millennia ago to more modern pilgrimages like that of tech icon Steve Jobs.

These divergent spirits emerged to become giants in their own worlds, creating phenomenal 21st-century miracles. China embraced a lightning-speed transition to transform a great nation experiencing economic frailty to the number two economy in the world. Jobs went on to build arguably the most iconic tech company in history, transforming the lives of everyone from beggars in the streets of Calcutta to the world’s super-elite.

These two players are iconic figures in the world of technology. Yet now their legacies sit at opposite sides of a table, the uncomfortable truth of a modern trade war between them. Technology, intellectual property, and semiconductors, form a fundamental battlefront of this modern conflict. Ancient India, the land that was wide awake when the rest of the world was sleeping, sadly lumbers along in the modern era of manufacturing. Today, when the developed world is embarking on Industry 4.0, India is still at an early stage of Industry 3.0. Modi has passionately championed `Make in India’ and while it continues to be a mantra recited at the highest levels, it is yet to be practiced as a way of life.

It is essential that India becomes a land of manufacturing, embracing it as the `dharma’ that will determine the well-being of the nation with the largest youth population on this planet.

Let us roll back time. India’s Semiconductor MIPS policy was introduced in 2011. The Indian authorities earmarked US$5B to enable two semiconductor fabrication facilities (Fabs). When questioned why India needs to get into fabs, policymakers rightfully stated that India can afford to invest and take a calculated risk of US$5B for national security and strategic reasons. Eight years later, the policy has expired without a rupee spent. The semiconductor industry did not take off. The two selected entities and their global partners failed to execute their part of the bargain. Industry players need to learn from this failure to ensure we get it right this time around.

India is certainly a nation with opportunities and challenges.

The challenges, once overcome, could accelerate further opportunities and growth with the reality of that potential clear :

• The global semiconductor market is expected to grow steadily to $800 billion, with India’s own semiconductor domestic content reaching ~$75 billion by 2025
• India will become the fifth-largest consumer market globally by 2025
• The middle-class is expected to grow from 80M today to over 300M by 2025
• Standard and Chartered predict India will overtake the become the world’s second-largest economic power by 2030, with a nominal GDP of $46.3 trillion

For the above to become a reality, vision and action must be executed well, or continue to lose opportunities. It is worth reminiscing two decades ago, the experts were debating whether China or India would become the next economic power, with many predicting India to win. As a keen observer that visited both nations during this time, it was clear to me who would be the winner. Within the last decade, nobody argues this point anymore.

There is a need for hard facts and decisiveness if India is going to take its rightful place on the world stage. It is not about the Elephant and Dragon. The world needs both. It is about creating infrastructure, jobs, investing in strategic industries wisely and enabling equitable global growth.

Manufacturing is a key engine for job creation. If `Made in the US’ is still required 70 years after the US has dominated the global economy, how much more important is this sentiment for India, with 4X the population and a fraction of the economic wealth? ‘Make in India’ must happen on multiple fronts. This needs to be the number one goal for the next 20 years economically, politically, and even one can argue spiritually. Infrastructure and factories need to be India’s next temples. India needs more jobs!

Let’s focus briefly on Make in India-semiconductor for its importance. Yes, the country needs to immediately inspire industries beyond just the semiconductor. But semiconductors power technologies and innovation which will continue to transform our lives today and into the future - Industry 4.0, electric vehicles, medical/biomedical, smart cities, AI, IoT, robotics, 5G and smart homes will become the norm. Technology will control economic power.

That’s why the US, China, Europe, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea have invested big and continue to focus on this industry. It is a strategic necessity to have access to the technologies, as well as a multiplier of economic effect.

Chinese authorities have invested more than US$500B directly into semiconductors, which has created millions of jobs directly and indirectly. Its semiconductor and electronics ecosystem is one of the world’s best. More than 60% of global semiconductors transit through China today as a truly global manufacturing house. A huge and well-employed population has enabled China to become the number two economic power today.

To recap an interesting discussion I had with Indian officials in 2012; why should India focus on semiconductor manufacturing when China is losing money on these industries. One of the vital frameworks for nation builders is to create quality jobs which will increase the purchasing power of its people. Though China might have only just broken even on semiconductor manufacturing, it has earned a hundred times more through its electronics, land appreciation and the earning power of its people due to the existence of these strategic industries.

New York and other specific US locations, as well as Europe and Asian powerhouses, continue to support semiconductor projects with up to 35% incentives, even after 60 years of semiconductor dominance. These nations recognise semiconductor technology as a strategic industry that has a multiplier effect.

Well-intended critics have argued against semiconductor fabs in India, citing Indians in general as too vocal and not disciplined enough to work in cleanrooms. It is interesting to note that some of the most powerful global semiconductor and technology companies employ Indians from CEOs to front-line clean-room jobs.

The semiconductor industry needs to strategically encompass the fabs, outsourced semiconductor and testing facilities (OSATs) and importantly the fabless entities to support industry growth. But India does need a differentiation strategy to tackle the world’s 35-year head-start. India can do things differently if it puts its mind to it. Its space program offers testimony, driving forward an industry as an elite global player at a fraction of typical investment.

India’s semiconductor industry needs a similar mind-set, differentiation and focused strategy, where the nation’s decision-makers need to empower the right leaders and experts to lead this mission. Capability without passion and accountability never goes anywhere.

So, what are the real challenges for India’s semiconductor industry ?

• The strategy needs to be right and it needs to include vital differentiation. There needs to be a coherent and centralised semiconductor policy that is formulated by semiconductor experts with commitment. India doesn’t have the time or excess funds to learn from its own mistakes. It needs to learn from the mistakes and strengths of others. For starters, the strategy needs to leverage its large domestic electronics consumption and to focus on differentiated emerging semiconductor technologies where it can compete globally, yet at a fraction of standard investments of China and other nations.
• India’s infrastructure and semiconductor ecosystem are a known problem. Efforts need to be accelerated. In a vast country with such problems, India needs to focus on selecting the best locations for the first 10 years, before expanding to other locations. There is no reason why a 10 km radius can’t be developed to international industry standards. The semiconductor ecosystem, which is almost non- existent today, can be solved with the right strategies and financial incentives for the pioneers to support `Make in India’.
• India needs to implement bold economic policies and incentives, with the industry lobbying to gain rightful acceptance. Every semiconductor nation has either fully or heavily funded its first pioneers. India must do the same. It should further leverage its domestic markets to build a framework that attracts Indian semiconductor pioneers. This includes both local and global players who can develop the first fabs, OSATs and relevant supporting industries. Support for local fabless startups and attractive global startups must be a priority. Do away with blunt policies that don’t incentivise cost-effective ways to start the industry, for example ‘funding incentives’ confined to brand new tools which overlook refurbished tools. Refurbished tools reduce investment by 20-30%; so why ignore them? The MIPS in 2012 provided 50% incentives. If that can be expanded for the first fabs, OSATs and 100 fabless IC entities, why not support that if it enables players to launch projects successfully. India also doesn’t have national investment entities that can launch this scheme as do many other nations. This should be addressed separately.

A positive path through smart global partnership

India’s path ahead is not one it should travel alone. Many nations can be incentivised to become partners and help start this pioneering industry in India. The government must leverage the value of its domestic markets and global opportunity to build strategic partnerships with global semiconductor players.

Public-private partnerships can help address the need for industry investment, alongside the wider infrastructure challenges which must be overcome to nurture a positive environment for the sector. It will be equally crucial to identify the correct private or public Indian entities to drive forward this mission. There must be clarity around the long-term vision and the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that vision is delivered.

A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. India needs to embark on that first step in semiconductor manufacturing to take its rightful place amongst the world’s manufacturing powerhouses. In supporting this strategic industry selectively, and Make in India more broadly, we not only unlock a better future for India, but provide a new spiritual journey of equitable global growth for all.

Can The Land Of The Ancient Seers Become Semiconductor Enlightened?

 

[Gautam]

Micron Technology inaugurates new centre in Hyderabad

1 min read . Updated: 04 Oct 2019, 06:08 PM IST Yunus Y. Lasania

• The company’s new centre is located in the heart of Hyderabad’s IT corridor and spans across an area of 350,000 square feet
• Micron expects to hire approximately 2,000 employees in India within the next few years

Micron first expanded in India when it began operations site in Bengaluru in April this year.

Hyderabad: Micron Technology Inc. on Friday launched its Global Development Centre in the IT corridor or Hi-Tech city in Hyderabad. The new site will be used to develop technologies in a wide range of areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. The new centre was inaugurated by Telangana IT minister K. T. Rama Rao, National Institute for Transforming India Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and other officials.

The company’s new centre is located in the heart of Hyderabad’s IT corridor and spans across an area of 350,000 square feet. “We’re delighted to launch our Global Development Centre in Hyderabad and expand our team of engineers, researchers, developers and IT specialists," said Mehrotra. He added that the skill set of Micron’s employees in Hyderabad includes information technology functions and engineering talent which can design and develop high-quality, cutting-edge memory and storage solutions.

Micron first expanded in India when it began operations site in Bengaluru in April this year. With its new office in Hyderabad, the company now has its presence in two of India’s cities which are recognized for their strides in the IT sector over the years. Micron expects to hire approximately 2,000 employees in India within the next few years, said a statement from the company on Friday.

It added that the company also aims to fill a wide range of roles in Hyderabad, including those in engineering, science, research and information technology. Micron also announced that it is awarding a $100,000 dollar grant to the Akshaya Patra Foundation’s midday-meal program through the Micron Foundation.

Headquartered in the US, Micron Technology Inc. is a producer of computer memory and computer data storage. The company’s global brands are Micron, Crucial, and Ballistix.

Micron Technology inaugurates new centre in Hyderabad

 

[Gautam]

Source : The Economist

 

[Gautam]

IIT Hyderabad researchers develop low power chips

 

[Gautam]

A new chip design/manufacturing company won the IDEX challenge and secured a investment of Rs. 1,57,43,793 from the Navy to make :

"We are co-developing the Hardware security solutions with Indian Navy under the Make-In-India initiative by Ministry of Defence.

The Secure hardware will enable our armed forces to have offline security with their own systems in place. With this hardware implementation the Graded secure data handled with self driven algorithms will be faster, simple and secure."

This is their website : Chipspirit

 

[Ashutosh]

A new chip design/manufacturing company won the IDEX challenge and secured a investment of Rs. 1,57,43,793 from the Navy to make :

"We are co-developing the Hardware security solutions with Indian Navy under the Make-In-India initiative by Ministry of Defence.

The Secure hardware will enable our armed forces to have offline security with their own systems in place. With this hardware implementation the Graded secure data handled with self driven algorithms will be faster, simple and secure."

This is their website : Chipspirit

we need 22 nm and 14 nm manufacturing here in India for silicon MiroPs. Like on yesterday basis. 10 Nm and 7 Nm though cutting edge are cost prohibitive in terms of returns and defects in manufacturing (Quantum physics : thank you). West is already exploring alternative Chip materials and designs. RISC V is the way forward but that need to be funded and developed, that gives us a good level playing field. And again without 22-14 nm manufacturing it is use less.

 

[Bali78]

A new chip design/manufacturing company won the IDEX challenge and secured a investment of Rs. 1,57,43,793 from the Navy to make :

"We are co-developing the Hardware security solutions with Indian Navy under the Make-In-India initiative by Ministry of Defence.

The Secure hardware will enable our armed forces to have offline security with their own systems in place. With this hardware implementation the Graded secure data handled with self driven algorithms will be faster, simple and secure."

This is their website : Chipspirit

Rs 1.5 crore funding?? Is it some kind of joke?? It’s not even enough to hire couple of decent engineers!!

 

[Bali78]

we need 22 nm and 14 nm manufacturing here in India for silicon MiroPs. Like on yesterday basis. 10 Nm and 7 Nm though cutting edge are cost prohibitive in terms of returns and defects in manufacturing (Quantum physics : thank you). West is already exploring alternative Chip materials and designs. RISC V is the way forward but that need to be funded and developed, that gives us a good level playing field. And again without 22-14 nm manufacturing it is use less.

Investing in Fabs is not a good idea. It’s next to impossible to recover the investment. We should invest in system design and after reaching critical mass, we can design our own chips ( backward integration). But in any case fabless model is the way to go.