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India needs to develop the right products: Dr. Bobby Mitra @ VLSID 2010
Inaugurating the conference today, wirelessly, along with the other distinguished guests, Dr. Biswadip (Bobby) Mitra, President & Managing Director, Texas Instruments India, said that the technology behind the conference has already started. This year, the conference is being taken to greater heights — VLSID 2010 is being webcasted live for the first time! Dr. Mitra added, “Taking the conference to the people is absolutely wonderful.”
L-R: Dr. Mahesh Mehendale, Dr. Hermann Eul, Dr. Bobby Mitra, Prof. Dimitri A. Antoniadis, Dr. Ruben A. Parekhji, Prof. Niraj Jha and Srivaths Ravi at the VLSID 2010 opening ceremony.
Delivering the opening keynote, Dr. Mitra presented his views on how he foresees the change in India from a VLSI design community to a semiconductor community.
He said: “So far, the industry and the academia have been focused on developing products right. As we enter the new decade, another new vector is likely to become a guiding point — that is, developing the right products. We will be developing better chips for our customers the sooner we can better understand their system aspects.”
He urged the Indian semiconductor/VLSI community to continue developing products right, and also to develop products that really benefit the customer. “Understanding the end application is going to be very vital.”
According to him, India’s growing importance in semiconductors would be critical during this decade. However, India, as a market for semiconductors, will help everyone in learning more — when the customer is at your doorstep. The amount of consumption in semiconductors in India has been amazing so far, and will only grow in future.
He added that companies based in India — both MNCs and local — have been really innovating. India is a not-to-be-missed market! He concluded, “The time to invest in the Indian semiconductor market is now, not later!”
Later, welcoming the delegates, Dr. Mahesh Mehendale, General Co-chair VLSID 2010 and Texas Instruments Fellow & Director, Center of Excellence for Digital Video, Texas Instruments India, said that Bangalore had really emerged as hub for semiconductors and IT. In fact, 2010 indicates 25 years since this revolution started.
Commenting on this year’s conference, he said: “Our aim was to push this conference nationally and globally, by taking the conference to the desktops.” Dr. Ruben A. Parikhji, Program Co-chair, apprised delegates of the technical sessions.
This was followed by two technical keynotes:
* Deep submicron CMOS technology – the challenges for semiconductor IDM, Prof. Dr. Hermann Eul, Member of Management Board, Infineon.
Want to enter solar off-grid business? Build your own solar LED lanterns and emergency lights!
I’ve been looking at the search results on my blog. It doesn’t surprise me that solar is a top search topic with searches such as ’emerging opportunity in solar cell manufacturing’ ranking very high.
Some other interesting solar-related searches — ‘list of new solar manufacturing companies’, ‘vertically integrated solar/PV companies’, ‘making home solar power in India’, ‘FDI in India for solar projects’, ‘solar PV production in India’, ‘solar products manufacturing opportunities’, ‘solar cells manufacturers’, ‘India solar opportunities’, ‘top rated solar products’, etc.
Wow, I am overwhelmed! Friends, I have touched on each one of these aspects over the past year and will continue to do so in future.
There has been a lot of interest in off-grid solar applications in India and elsewhere for quite a while now. I’ve been discussing how one can easily enter the solar business with my associate Usha. Friends such as Ravi and Shilpa have got into discussions with me regarding the solar business in India as well. There have been a few requests on LinkedIn too, to comment on NSM and also, how to get into the solar LED lantern business.
That’s very interesting and heartening to learn that folks are getting serious about solar and LEDs. Many thanks to those who think I am capable enough to write about such topics. It is very humbling!
Now, if you search the Internet, you can find sites that offer tips on how to build you own DIY solar LED lantern — which, I consider a very easy way to enter the off-grid market in India.
Build your own solar LED lantern
Let me attempt this with the solar LED lanterns. First: how do you enter the off-grid solar applications business in India or anywhere? There are three ways of doing so.
One, either you build/manufacture a product yourself. Two, become a franchisee for some local manufacturer. Three, simply import products from manufacturers in China, Taiwan or anywhere else, and sell it in India, or wherever you are!
What would you actually need to build a solar LED lantern or even solar emergency lights?
* Solar cell/panel of say, 2W
* Two or four LEDs — you can go for high-brightness LEDs too!
* Small transparent plastic containers, preferably with holders to hang, if needed.
* Terminal block
* Wires, toggle/selector switch and other basic circuitry to connect to the LED
* 2A or 3A batteries
If you want to build a rechargeable unit, add a NiCd/NiMH rechargeable battery and connect it to the solar cell/panel.
Now, am sure you can assemble this! If not, find some electrical engineering student to do it for you. Or, some electrical mechanic! Or, search the Internet for sites who tell you how to do this, if you want to save on the assembly cost too!
Where can you source these materials? From electrical suppliers or components distributors! Or, from the open market itself.
What will be the development cost for building a basic solar LED lantern? I reckon, not even Rs. 200 (US $5), or even less!
Where can you sell these? Anywhere! Hope you have seen the Hindi movie — Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost, starring Abhishek Bachchan, where he brings a TV to his village and how it changes the village’s lifestyle. Or, I hope you’ve seen the Hindi movie, Swades, starring Shah Rukh Khan, where he literally ‘brings’ electricity to a remote Indian village!
Try visiting your own village (if you belong to one), or your home town. Am sure there are power cuts galore, if you happen to live in India. Just go there and ask around if the people would be willing to try out your product. Once they can see it in use and understand its benefit, who knows, you could be in for major success. Most importantly, think, how you can help improve the quality of life of the rural folks!
Oh, think about our farmers too. If you can develop good quality solar irrigation pumps, that would be great! It won’t be a bad idea either to visit the Auroville and The Matri Mandir in Pondicherry. They use solar cookers!
If making this solar LED lantern looks easy, then try and building your solar decorative lights, solar lamps, solar camping lanterns, solar flashlights, solar emergency lights, etc. The choice is yours! Share your success stories with me! 😉
Maybe, there are too many makers in this field, some would say. I feel, the only differentiator would be in the quality of the LEDs used and how long your product would operate in a day — if 10-12 hours or more, brilliant!
The National Solar Mission (NSM) has ambitious plans. Maybe, here’s a way of participating and contributing to its success.
Finally, I am a layman, who doesn’t understand engineering. What I’ve said here is in simple, layman’s language. Am sure there are many knowledgeable folks out there, who can share their experiences.
Updated: Jan 7th, 2009: I have to add some more information. First, I am simply overwhelmed at the response this post has received so far. Many, many thanks to all of you who have shared your valuable experiences.
Further, this simple business model can be used by practically anyone — whether the person is based in either rural Africa or even Latin America. I wish to thank a LinkedIn networker, Steaphany Waelder, for pointing this out. I will also post Steaphany’s comment here for everyone to see and benefit.
My idea was to provide the simplest of business models for folks who could be interested in such a business. Of course, everyone is free to innovate, and spend of features, etc., as they go along. Best of luck!
Top semiconductor and EDA trends to watch out for in 2010!
This is a continuation from my previous blog post, where I was in conversation with Jaswinder Ahuja, corporate vice president and managing director, Cadence Design Systems (I) Pvt. Ltd.
I also took this opportunity to quiz him on the top semiconductor and EDA trends for 2010.
Semiconductor and EDA industry trends forecast for 2010
According to Jaswinder Ahuja, as we look ahead to 2010 and beyond, the challenges are great for the semiconductor and EDA industries – but so are the opportunities.
He said: “We must learn to thrive in an increasingly globalized world and in a collaborative yet competitive ecosystem. EDA providers and semiconductor companies must collaborate to reduce the escalating cost of high-quality design and remove productivity bottlenecks, and work together to bring the semiconductor industry out of the doldrums.
“In terms of the worldwide semiconductor industry, collaboration will continue to accelerate. The Common Platform, which brought together competitors including IBM, Chartered, and Samsung to share the costs of next-generation process technology, is one example.”
Deep, pro-active collaborations between EDA vendors and semiconductor providers have become crucial. Cadence in 2009 announced collaborations on advanced process node design with ARM, TSMC, SMIC, Global Foundries, UMC, IBM, Common Platform, and other partners.
Ahuja added: “In terms of EDA, providers must not only help customers reduce design and verification costs and solve technology problems, but must also help them differentiate themselves from competitors, and collaborate with partners on a worldwide basis. To do this, the EDA industry must focus on the integrated solutions and close partnerships, rather than simply selling point tools.
“Time-to-market pressures and design complexity are critical challenges that design teams face today. Design teams want to “get it right” the first time, and improve the predictability of design process. EDA will have to sharpen the focus on making the verification process cost effective and focus not only on design but on IP integration so that design predictability can be ensured for customers at optimum costs. Design for manufacturing (DFM) technologies including extremely accurate modeling solutions for both mask-making and manufacturing to avoid expensive silicon re-spins will be another focus area.”
End consumers are driving our customers to incorporate more functionality into the products. This demand for new functionality is driving both the importance and complexity increase in mixed signal and RF (radio frequency) design.
“As our customers face significant cost pressure, outsourcing certain elements of a production-grade design environment can address certain customer needs for reduced cost and risk. The need for business optimization gave a fillip to models like Software as a Service for electronic design, whose flexible engagement models to access state-of-the art design environments helped design teams reduce risk and cost while increasing productivity, in 2009. This will continue to gain traction in 2010.
“As designs migrate to sub-90nm process nodes, power management will be an imperative across the entire design and manufacturing chain,” noted Ahuja.
Strengths and weaknesses of Indian semiconductor industry
In terms of strengths, India’s talent base is a clear advantage. The availability and scalability of talent has attracted IDCs (India development centers) here for many years now.
Second, India has a wealth of technical expertise and proven delivery record of designs from spec to GDSII by design services companies and by IDCs, and in the embedded software area as well.
Third, the Indian semiconductor ecosystem is maturing and the IP regime in India is considered just and favorable for business.
In terms of weaknesses, we are yet to develop full product definition and system design capability from India. This is a challenge for the Indian semiconductor industry. Second, we are yet to develop a competitive manufacturing capability and capacity, although we have taken some steps in this area through ATMPs and solar fabs.
Yes indeed! The Indian semicon industry has many, many miles to go and several promises to keep!
Need for Indian semicon industry to think beyond embedded and design services
A friend recently called me a ‘maverick’ blogger! I wonder why! Nevertheless, let’s start off the new year with a topic that has been coming up for discussion time and again.
It is said: Indian industry should think beyond embedded and design services. What should those be? What is that extra or more that the Indian industry should do to grab the attention of overseas players? I had the pleasure of discussing this aspect with Jaswinder Ahuja, corporate vice president and managing director, Cadence Design Systems (I) Pvt. Ltd.
Jaswinder Ahuja, corporate VP and MD, Cadence Design Systems (I) Pvt. Ltd
According to Jaswinder Ahuja, the Indian semiconductor industry has come a long way from the early eighties when a few companies set up centers to offshore non-critical design work to India.
“Today, India is a preferred destination for chip, board, embedded software design and development. Captive design centers and design services companies now own end-to-end design. Fabless companies and IP providers have also emerged, resulting in the gradual, steady rise of India’s semiconductor ecosystem. India now needs to move to the next level i.e., become the next innovation hub for experimenting and launching new products,” he said.
The mobile phone revolution in India has taught us that India is a very large, viable and profitable market if all elements of the ecosystem align and there is appropriate innovation at the technology and business level.
The Indian market has some unique characteristics and provides Indian entrepreneurs a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to innovate, create and capture value by building products and solutions for the local market, which can then be extended to global emerging and developed markets.
He added that Indian companies also need to get comfortable with collaborating across the value chain within India and globally. “Sectors like energy, healthcare, communications and education hold immense potential and we are already starting to see early signs of Indian companies innovating for the Indian market.”
All of this does make a lot of sense!
The second part of this discussion will look at the top semicon/EDA trends to watch out for in 2010.
Pradeep Chakraborty 