India needs to develop core electronics, become product nation

Fraunhofer, Germany, and EPIC Foundation India, co-organized a conference today in New Delhi on a Roadmap for Indo-German Cooperation in Electronics and Semiconductors.

Harish Wadhwa, President, EPIC Foundation India, welcomed the audience. India has been a focus, and a strategic pillar in Fraunhofer’s global vision. Europe has emerged as a large market, largely, thanks to Taiwan. India's ecosystem is evolving right now. The Indian Government has been instrumental in bringing about a chip triangle. This is an immense opportunity for us to take this forward.

Ms. Anandi Iyer, Director, Fraunhofer Office India, presented on Indian electronics industry: The changing paradigm, and the opportunities ahead. She said Fraunhofer bet on India about 18 years ago. When you are a first mover, it shows commitment. We are all aware of German innovation. It has a robust R&D infrastructure. There is respect for IP, leading to high GDP. Contribution of R&D to GDP is about 5%. 

India brings strength of adaptiveness and speed. We analyzed why we should be in India. Many Fraunhofer clients are already in India. India has weak industry-academia link, and needs Fraunhofer. We have been given tech challenges by India in the past. We have multiple presence across Germany. We have 75 research units and institutes. There is huge focus on IP and breakthrough innovation. 

We can take research to market in shortest possible time. More than 10,000 projects have been implemented every year. We are inspiration model, and partner with anybody. We divide ourselves into groups. We have Fraunhofer Alliance of Microsystems, and works seamlessly with the industry. Institutes and research organizations are fast tracking the research cycle. Example are MP3, white LED, etc.

We are also bringing up deep tech startups. India can join the Co-lab project. We also partner with the Government. We have partnerships with GoI on hydrogen, sustainable solutions in agriculture, etc.

Lab-to-fab is very common at Fraunhofer. Reliance connected for thin cell technology. We have the German Innovation Forum, where, Dr. Vinay Shenoy, Infineon, graces the occasion. Multiple German companies also collaborate to find tech solutions for the Indian market. Two projects -- road safety and circular economy, have been very successful. We also have projects with Indian companies in South Africa and USA. We would like to continue working with EPIC and India.

India as a product nation
Dr. Ajai Chowdhry, Co-founder, HCL and Chairman, EPIC Foundation India, stated that we need to build India as a product nation. We have made ourselves famous in software services over the last 30 years. However, India has been too dependent on services.

We now need to move on, and become a product nation. We also need to invest in R&D. The private sector is devoid of R&D. 

We now have an objective of creating an ecosystem. We have had relationships with Taiwan, Europe, and now, Germany. After World War II, America needed some great technology institutes that could make America really great. That led to the creation of DARPA, NASA, etc. Germany's help was always there. India now has an opportunity to make this happen. Germany has now joined us. 

We should also have an objective of being lab-to-market. We would like Fraunhofer to partner with our companies. For instance, we don't have power electronics products in India, so far. We also don't have the latest MEMS and sensors. Science and technology will take us where we want to be. The Indian Government has created $12 billion fund for R&D. Large areas will be created, along with product directions. Startups will have 70:30. We need to move away from services, and become a product nation.

Need to develop core electronics
Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy, Member, National Security Advisory Board (NSAB), Honorary Advisor to Government of Andhra Pradesh (Cabinet Rank), President, Aeronautical Society of India, Former Secretary of the Department of Defence R&D, Government of India, Former Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India (DRDO), made the keynote address.

He said that we have worked with Fraunhofer on many projects. EPIC Foundation and Fraunhofer have now brought together this initiative. Many systems can be developed out of India. We are making satellite launch vehicles, etc. Systems are emerging today from India.

Core electronics that is needed for all of these are still not present in India, and are imported. We need to develop sensors, detectors, and devices, in India. 

There have been some efforts. We started an institute to work on GaA and GaN technologies. A facility in Bangalore is working on MEMS devices. Some devices are coming in, but we need to go much further. 

Aircrafts and engines are critical sector for us. We also import about 90-95% of solar cells. We are still importing various electronic components for drones. We now need to now work on developing core components. We need to develop the building blocks. 

Collaborations between two nations is an important role today. R&D is an important area. We need to also lead, or be contemporary, in technologies. We need to invest, collaborate, and work. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam had orchestrated a collaboration between Russia and India. That had led to the creation of the Brahmos missile. We now hope that Germany will collaborate with us. We also have an agreement with Germany for emerging technologies.

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru is a key player in GaN (Gallium Nitride) research and development in India. Specifically, IISc houses the Gallium Nitride Ecosystem Enabling Centre and Foundry (GEECI), a Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) funded initiative aimed at fostering a GaN ecosystem. This facility provides resources for GaN wafer deposition, device fabrication, characterization, and packaging.