copyofMay-Jun 2008.indd

Foreword
Harnessing Knowle d g e
for Competitivenes s
We have always held the government responsible f o r t h e
ills of the Indian economy in general, and even m o r e s o o f
the electronics industry. Our belief is backed by i r r e f u t a b l e
analysis and logic. This is indeed a matter of grea t r e l i e f
for us because at least we can take solace in the f a c t t h a t
we are not ourselves responsible for our unenviou s s t a t e .
While ELCINA has left no stone unturned to convince the government to mend its ways, on introspection we have found that perhaps there is much that we can do ourselves to improve our plight.
This realization has led to the creation of a Centre for Knowledge
Management (CKM) at ELCINA with support and direction provided by our Executive Committee.
We hope this initiative will enhance our endeavours towards selfempowerment, which has been the cornerstone of ELCINA’s activities for enhancing competitiveness of industry. To achieve this end,
ELCINA has been conducting seminars, workshops and training
programs on contemporary management systems and emerging
technologies which confront the electronics industry and need to
be mastered.
Another maze which we hope the CKM will help us to unravel is
the multitude of management and quality systems, standards, tools
and global legislation which companies are expected to comprehend and implement in their businesses. This is becoming an insurmountable and expensive challenge to overcome. The industry is
faced with questions regarding which system to adopt, who are the
right trainers, how to manage the cost of these systems and how to
imbibe and implement this knowledge effectively ? The CKM seeks
to provide an answer to these intractable questions as a friend of
the industry.
In a nutshell, we believe that the CKM will empower industry and
guide it to focus on the right management and quality tools enabling it to produce environmentally friendly high quality products
at the lowest cost using relevant technology for competitiveness.
One of the initiatives taken by the global electronics industry is the
Electronic Industry Code of Conduct which emphasizes the fact
that economic excellence only when combined with social and environmental responsibility becomes a sufficient condition for prosperity in the long run. The EICC is an initiative by the international
electronics community to ensure that their rapidly growing industry
follows work ethics and norms that ensure sustained economic
growth and is responsible to society and the environment.
The Indian industry is already being impacted by these trends and
requirements of the international community through various legislations such as RoHS, WEEE, REACH, OHSAS and many more.
While staying abreast of these developments the Indian industry
needs to actively address these issues which include operational
and economic excellence as well as environmental and social responsibility.
The ELCINA- CKM aspires to address the following skill-sets for
enhancing competitiveness:
•
Quality Improvement Techniques
•
Cost Competitiveness
•
Management System Standards
•
Technology Upgradation
•
Organisation Efficiency
ELCINA urges its esteemed members and the industry to participate wholeheartedly in this initiative and make its best use for developing internal competitiveness for global leadership.
RAJOO GOEL
This endeavour may appear a little outlandish in a country where
industry routinely struggles with hygiene factors such as basic infrastructure problems and bureaucratic delays. Expecting the industry to shift focus on self empowerment will definitely be a challenge and would require a shift in our mindsets. However, when
we look at the global industry and focus on the larger picture, we
find that this well may be the only option left for us if we want to
make a place for ourselves in an increasingly open and globalised
environment.
May-Jun ‘08
1
In this Issue
M a y - J u n 2 0 0 8 V o l . 1 1 , I s s ue 4
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Pg 5 Business Environment
in ELCINA Electronics Outlook
A Great Opportunity for Electronic
Components in EU
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Pg 8 Industry Update
Market Trends
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2
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s O utlook
Pg 25 Special Feature
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Photonic Chips go 3D
Pg 28 Policy Update
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Pg 32 Business Update
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Pg 35 ELCINA Activity Update
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PCT 1000 Programmable Pr eheater
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Electronic Industries Association of I n d i a , N e w D e l hi .
E&OE
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cross-checking and further verificati o n . H o w e v e r , E L C I N A
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T +91 11 4162 4401/02 F +91 11 4162 0040
E v i s i o n v i b e s@ g m a i l . c o m W w w w. v i s i o n v i b e s . c o m
Bu s i n e s s E n v i r o n m e n t
A great Opportunity for
Ele c t r o n i c C o m p o n e n t s
in E U
In the period 2007-2011, the EU demand is expected t o g r o w
at a sli ghtly faster pace than in the period 2003-2007. G r o w t h
in the CEE countries will slow down, although growth i n t h e s e
countri es will still be higher than in most West Europe a n c o u ntries, at an average of 5-10% per year. In 2011, the E U m a r k e t
is forecast to reach a value of €73.6 billion.
Industrial demand
The demand for electronic components in the EU increased by more
than 4.5% per year in the period 20032007, reaching a value of €60.6 billion
in 2007. While the demand for passive
components only grew by 0.3% on average per year, the demand for electromechanicals grew by 3.1% and for
actives even almost 6%. The top three
– Germany, the UK and France – accounted for almost 45% of total component demand in the EU. The demand in
Central and Eastern European (CEE)
countries grew faster than in Western
Europe, which was caused by the production transfer of a substantial part of
Western European electronics production to these countries. Especially Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic
attracted major foreign direct investments (FDI). As an indication, the EU
components market is comparable in
size to the markets of Japan and the
US, while Asia commands a world
share of 40-50%.
The total apparent demand for assemblies was about €28.7 billion in 2005.
This meant a decline of 6% per year
since 2001, which confirms the transfer
of a significant part of electronic equipment production in which electronic assemblies are used to Asia. Especially
the UK was hit hard.
One major, general trend that can be
seen in the EU market is the increasing concern for the environment. The
care for the environment has become a
strategic political issue in the EU. This
will lead to increased demand for of
energy-efficient technologies, including
energy-efficient components. The EU
has also launched several regulations
in recent years, which, for example,
must make components free of hazardous materials.
Market segmentation
Most electronic components in Europe
went to the computer segment (34%)
and communications (21%). Other major market segments were the automotive industry (19%), industrial applications (15%) and consumer appliances
(10%). Recent information confirms
a growing market share for the automotive and the industrial segments in
the period 2005-2007. The importance
of both segments is typical for the EU
market, as in other continents, these
segments are less important.
Production
More than 1,000 companies with over
216,000 employees are engaged in the
electronic components industry across
Europe, and almost 70% of total EU
production results from small and medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). The total
EU components production amounted
to about €21 billion in 2005. This was
a steep decline since 2001, caused by
the transfer of a significant part of production to low-cost countries (LCCs).
Especially France and the UK were hit
hard. Germany continued to dominate
components production in the EU. One
major reason for Germany’s domination is its very large electromechanical
components production, mainly for its
automotive industry. France – because
of the presence of several large semiconductor producers – and Italy, due to
a considerable electromechanical components production for its automotive
industry, take second and third place
respectively.
According to Eurostat data, the total
EU assemblies production output was
almost equal to component production:
€21.6 billion in 2005. This was a decline of 8% per year since 2001. It confirms the transfer of a significant part of
production to Asia. Especially the UK,
France and Italy were hit badly.
Market size
Electronic components
Table 1.1 shows that in the period
2003-2007, demand for electronic components in the EU annually increased
by 4.7% to €60.6 billion in 2007. While
the demand for passive components
only grew by an average 0.3% per
year, the demand for electromechanicals grew by 3.1% and for actives by
as much as 5.9%. The leading market
in the EU, Germany, alone accounted
for more than 20% of the total EU demand. The top three – Germany, the
UK and France – accounted for almost
45% of total component demand in the
May-Jun ‘08
5
Bu s i n e s s E n v i r o n m e n t
Table 1.1 EU Demand for electronic components, 2003-2011, € million, by
product group & by country
EU. Only the Danish and Irish demand
decreased in the period 2003-2007.
While demand in most Western European countries saw an increase in the
range of 0.2-5%, the demand in Central
and Eastern European (CEE) countries
grew at a much higher rate, often more
than 10% per year. These high growth
rates were the result of the transfer of
a substantial part of Western European
production to these countries, ranging
from electronics to products that incorporate electronics, like cars and consumer electronics. Especially Poland
(LCD screens), Hungary (lighting) and
the Czech Republic attracted major foreign direct investments (FDI), among
which were several FDI from Asian
companies.
Trends
Table 1.2 EU apparent demand for electronic assemblies, 2001-2005,
€ million, by country
In the period 2007-2011, the EU demand is expected to grow at a slightly
faster pace than in the period 20032007. Growth in the CEE countries will
slow down, although growth in these
countries will still be higher than in
most West European countries, at an
average of 5-10% per year. In 2011,
the EU market is forecast to reach a
value of €73.6 billion. Growth per product group in the EU will be (again) the
highest for active components (5.5%),
followed by electromechanicals (4.4%)
and passives (2.6%). Pulled by more
digital electronic equipment, wider application for memories, miniaturisation
and silicium integration, the active component market growth remains higher
than growth levels of passive and electromechanical components, and also of
electronic equipment.
The least dynamic market is the passive component one, due to the integration of passive functions inside silicium or module or electromechanical
(mainly PCBs). The passives market
is also affected by the rapid decline of
CRT tubes that used to be a very large
market for magnetic components.
CBI MARKET
SURVEY:
The Electronic
Components
Market in the EU
S o urce: Eurostat
( N ovember 2007)
6
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s O utlook
According to Decision Consult, active
components form the largest group
within the electronic components market in the EU in 2007, accounting for
66% (€40 billion) of the total market.
Electromechanical components take
up 26% (€16 billion), leaving 7% (€4,5
billion) to passive components. By
2011, active components are expected
to have increased from a 63% share
in 2003 to 67% in 2011. The growing
Table 1.3 Market segmentation of electronic components, total and by
product group, 2006, in % of value
CBI MARKET SURVEY:
The Electronic Components
Market in the EU
S o u r c e : E u r o s t a t ( N ovember 2007)
share of active components will be at
the cost of both the share of passive
components (from 9% to 7%) and electromechanical components (from 28%
to 26%).
On a global level, data of the EECA can
be used for an indication of the EU market position. These data show that the
combined world demand for semiconductors and passive components grew
from a value of €207 billion in 2005 to
€223 billion in 2006. This increase was
seen in all world regions. The size of the
European semiconductor and passive
components market remains comparable to that of Japan and the US. With
16% of the world market share in 2006
(down from 17% in 2005), it is slightly
smaller than the markets of Japan and
the US. The highest increase in market
share (2%, to 47% in 2006) was registered in the Asia Pacific region, comprising China, South Korea, Malaysia,
Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
Electronic assemblies
As becomes clear from Table 1.2, the
total EU demand for assemblies was
approximately €28.7 billion in 2005.
This means a decline of 6% per year
since 2001, which confirms the transfer
of a significant part of electronic equipment production in which electronic assemblies are used to Asia. Especially
the UK was hit hard. Most remarkable
is the position of Ireland, taking a fourth
position in the EU, due to its large PC
assembly activities. As with the demand for components, the demand in
Central and Eastern European (CEE)
countries grew at a much higher rate
than in West European countries.
used in computers (28%; e.g. for PC
and data storage) and communication products (23%; including wireless
handsets and remote access applications). Other major market segments
were the automotive industry (19%;
ranging from navigation to ABS components), consumer appliances (14%;
e.g. components for TV set-top boxes, camcorders, stereo components
or fridges) and industrial applications
(13%; e.g. components for power supply or IC card applications). Two years
later, the importance of the computer
segment had grown to 34%. While the
share of communications was down to
21%, the industrial segment won 2%,
representing 15% of the total market in
2006. The consumer segment showed
the largest loss (4%), while automotive
remained stable at 19%. Finally, the
share of components for governmental applications, including applications
in the field of aerospace and military,
saw a decline from 2% in 2004 to 1%
in 2006. Recent information confirms a
growing market share for the automotive and the industrial segments in the
period 2005-2007.
As shown Table 1.3, which gives an
overview of market segment shares
per product group, the computer segment takes a leading role because of
its strong position in semiconductors.
When keeping in mind that semiconductors account for a major share of
the active components group, and active components represent 66% of all
components, it is logical that semiconductors dominate the aggregate market segmentation of electronic components. Unlike with semiconductors, for
passives the industrial market segment
is the most important application sector. It is expected that this segment will
grow in the coming years due to a high
demand in the broad and much diversified machine building and automation
industry. For electromechanical components, automotive is the largest market segment, followed by industrial.
Source: CBI market survey report
Market segmentation
EECA data indicate that, in 2004, most
electronic components in Europe were
May-Jun ‘08
7
Industry Update
Market Trends
from India & Around
“We plan to acquire two million subscribers in the first year of operations
and would be spending Rs 40-50 crore
to market the offering” says a company
official. The cost of DTH services would
start at Rs 375.
Surprise fall of Rupee
Colour picture tubes may attract
anti-dumping duty
Commerce Ministry has proposed levying an anti-dumping duty, ranging from
10% to 22%, across different categories
of colour picture tubes (CPTs) that are
being imported by television manufacturers. The proposal, moved on May 7
and currently with the Finance Ministry,
is being opposed by TV manufacturers. If notified, the industry fears that it
would make the import of picture tubes
expensive and lead to an increase in
the cost of televisions in the domestic
market vis-à-vis completely built television sets that can be imported from
Thailand at 0% duty under FTA that India has with Thailand.
Videocon forays into DTH space
Videocon Industries will launch its DTH
services in August this year through its
media arm Bharat Business Channel
Ltd. The services to be called’D2H’ will
have a national rollout in mid-August.
8
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s Outlook
The Rupee continues its downward
slide and has been breached the 43mark against the dollar, as oil prices
soar to record levels. Consistent dollar
buying by oil companies has made the
rupee depreciate by 5% in May so far.
However, dollar-selling by exporters
and corporates at weaker levels has
kept the drop in check.
India signs $42 million 5-Year
coop programme with UNIDO
(focus on manufacturing
particularly in SME clusters)
A US $ 42 million Country Programme
India 2008-2012 – a comprehensive
programme of Technical Cooperation
between India and the United Nations
Industrial Development Organization
(UNIDO) has been signed to strengthen the competitiveness and productivity of industrial enterprises in India, with
a special focus on employment generation and the greening of industry in Vienna on 16th of May, 2008 has been
described as a major initiative – the
first of its kind. Mr. Philippe Scholtes,
UNIDO Representative and Head of
its South Asia operations, underlined
its importance as a milestone in IndiaUNIDO partnership.
The key areas to be addressed in the
new Integrated Programme are
Induction of clean technolo gies, which would be done in the
broader context of “industry and
Climate Change” and aim at de veloping a clean-green industry.
Introduction of energy efficiency
and conservation in industry.
Acquisition, assimilation and de velopment of new manufacturing
technologies.
Water conservation practices.
Standardization and total quality
management.
Design and other Intellectual
Property Rights (IPR) issues.
Skill Development
Investment promotion.
The focus will be on key manufacturing
sectors especially Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) clusters in order to
Industry Update
enhance employment generation and
to ensure a more balanced inclusive
pattern of growth.
Recognizing that the most cost-effective intervention is at the level of industrial clusters, there will be a mapping of
clusters, at an estimated cost of US $ 2
million, which would, interalia, identify
the major SME clusters in the country
and analyze the specific interventions
that would be needed in the clusters to
enhance their competitiveness.
Defence to be $100-b industry
by 2022: Report
The Indian Defence Industry could be
seventh highest spender in the world
with a budget of $36.2 billion (Rs
1,54,800 crore) by 2016, according to
a recent Frost & Sullivan report. The
military procurement programme including the MRO (maintenance, repair
and overhaul) market is predicted to
exceed $100 billion by 2022. This year,
the defense industry will import equipment worth an estimated $12 billion,
the report said. This is a good opening
for the local industry to share the growing demand.
tional Centres of Excellence through
a strong focus on research in frontier
technology areas. To achieve this objective, it is imperative to attract bestin-class faculty and students; develop
sustainable linkages with industry and
provide an environment conducive
for research excellence. To justify the
large investments being made in the
IIITs, it is important that they provide a
sufficient scale at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral research levels.
The location of the IIIT will play an important role in the realization of these
objectives. NASSCOM, in its report,
has provided guidelines for the selection of the location for an IIIT and has
also indicated 20 locations that may be
considered by MHRD and other stakeholders.
Videocon bid for expansion
Videocon says its talks to buy out the
mobile handset business of US-based
Motorola are at ‘initial’ stages. According to Videocon, which is present in
Industry run IT institutes may be
a reality soon
various sectors, it is studying General
Electric’s invitation for bid for its appliances division, which is being put on
the block.
Videocon for operational rejig
Videocon may merge some of its factories to improve efficiencies and boost
sales in a bid to gain an upper hand on
competitors. “The factories need consolidation and control as they operate
independently with different human resource (HR) and logistic policies. The
segmented operations cannot have
power and focus on quality” said Mr.
K.R. Kim, Vice-chairman and CEO
(global operations), Videocon, who
steered LG to market leadership in his
earlier stint.
NASSCOM submits model report
on opening 20 fresh IIITs
NASSCOM says, it has formally presented the model, detailed project report (DPR) to the Ministry of Human
Resource Development (MHRD) for
the establishment of 20 new Indian
Institutes of Information Technology
(IIIT) in India, as announced by the
Prime Minister in Eleventh Five-Year
plan. This model DPR will serve as a
template for the preparation of the DPR
for each individual IIIT.
Inc. “We at the planning Commission
have proposed to the Government to
rationalize some of the labour laws”
according to Planning Commission
Member Mr. Anwarul Hooda. Referring
to the Industrial Disputes Act, he said
the Government needs to do away with
the Chapter V-B provisions, which bar
a company employing more than 100
workers to close down an establishment without the permission of State
Government. This prevents organizations from employing more than 100
people, he said.
Each of the IIITs has been proposed
to be set up as a fully autonomous institution, through a public-private partnership (PPP) model. The partners in
setting up the IIITs would be MHRD,
respective State Governments where
each IIIT will be established and industry members.
Very soon Indian Information technology majors like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies and Wipro
could be running their own Indian Institutes of Information Technology. Most
top infotech companies operating in
India were in talks with Nasscom for
facilitating such institutes, according to
Nasscom officials.
Each IIIT has been envisioned to become a world class academic institute
and also evolve into technology/func-
Plan panel favours changes in
labour laws
The Planning Commission has asked
the Government to amend labour laws
that are hindering the process of automation and modernization of India
FICCI seeks interest rate cut to
boost industrial output
Industry chamber FICCI has criticized
Reserve Bank’s tight monetary policy
and higher interest rates for slowdown
in industrial production. The tight monetary policy stance lowered demand in
the economy, which affected industrial
growth, FICCI said. It said apart from
higher interest rates, a stronger Rupee
also took a toll on industrial performance. With industrial growth slowing
down to a dismal 3% in March 2008
against 14.8% in the same month last
year, FICCI suggested RBI to reduce
interest rates
May-Jun ‘08
9
Industry Update
Eurozome inflation rules high
two million units of obsolete computers originate from government offices,
business houses, industrial units and
households every year by the estimate.
Although a few IT players have already
got an e-waste strategy in place, industry leaders say it’s time the government
enacted its policy to create an enabling
environment.
Eurozone inflation has surged to record
levels seen earlier this year. German
data suggested as soaring oil prices all
but ruled out any early cut in European Central Bank (ECB) interest rates.
Germany’s annual inflation rate leapt
from 2.6 per cent in April to 3 per cent
this month on a European harmonized
basis, according to the country’s statistical office report. Although it is far below India’s inflation figure of which has
gone upto 11.05%.
New EDI to cut costs
Manufacturing growth set for a
slowdown : RBI
According to RBI’s industrial outlook
survey 2008, despite an improvement
in the operating environment, performance of the manufacturing sector is
expected to be lower in the April-June
2008 quarter (Q1) compared with that
in the same period of 2007. The central
bank says, a significantly higher proportion of respondents expected a decline
in overall businesses, financial situation
and exports and an increase in prices
of raw materials when compared to parameters in the first quarter of 2007-08.
Wessing. In fact, all the BRIC (Brazil,
Russia, India and China) countries find
a place in the bottom half of the list
with India followed by Brazil (20), Russia (21) and China (22). The report by
Taylor Wessing has ranked developed
economies UK, US and Germany in the
first, second and third positions respectively.
Nokia shifts services arm to
India
Telecom Equipment major Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) is shifting its
global services business unit headquarters to India from Munich. The
company is hiring 300 people for the
centre, which will be set up in the National Capital Region
e-Waste burden alarming for
environment
Trade Deficit Widens
The Government is concerned about
the country’s trade deficit, which increased by 35.51% to US$ 80.39 billion in 2007-08 from the previous years
US$ 59.32 billion.
India ahead of China in enforcing
IPR
When it comes to protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights, India ranks a poor 19th out of 22 nations
surveyed by European law firm Taylor
10
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s O utlook
Electronic waste is waste material consisting of any broken or unwanted electrical or electronic appliances. About
In a move that will facilitate export and
import of high value goods, the electronic data interchange (EDI) system for
air cargo is being revamped. The government has initiated a Rs 5550-crore
project to connect over 36 ports handling domestic and international cargo
electronically. The system, which will
integrate DGFT, customs, excise and
service tax divisions through a single
network, is expected to go operational
by January 2009.
IBM, ISB ink research pact
IT major IBM India and the Indian
School of Business has announced
the signing of the first open collaborative research agreement in Asia aimed
at improving the competitiveness of
the services sector in the region. This
research would support companies
to redesign their project management
structure, reduce attrition, and also help
the high performance groups to move
up the value chain, a release said. The
research will be led by the Centre for
Global Logistics and Manufacturing
Strategies (GLAMS) at the ISB and the
Indian Research University and University of California, Berkeley for research
in development economics.
Industry chambers seek interest
cuts to boost production
Industry Chambers like FICCI and ASSOCHAM have asked the Government
to take measures to bring down interest rate for reviving industrial growth
that slipped to 3% in March 2008, from
14.8% a year ago. The Government
should give a leg-up to the industry by
providing the right environment including interest rate revision. Performance
of manufacturing sector is expected
to be lower even in the first quarter of
2008-09. Some of the major concerns
of Indian industry are increase in the
prices of raw material and high interest
cost those continues to remain unaddressed.
Industry Update
Faster resolution of NTB likely
International disputes on non-tariff barriers (NTB) to trade mat be resolved
much faster-down from a minimum of
more than three years to just over 2
months-thanks to a proposal originally
floated by India. The proposal is gaining support from across the multilateral spectrum. NTBs-like health regulations, labour laws, unfair customs
procedures-are very complicated and
are intended to curb imports, but they
are not in the form of a tariff.
Hardware sales to touch $360
billion by 2015
According to PHDCCI, on the back of
increasing demand of consumer electronics, sales of hardware in the country is poised to touch $360 billion-mark
by 2015. These would include units
brought through imports and those
produced domestically. Electronics
hardware consumption in the country,
which is growing at 30%, will be one
of the fastest growing segments in the
country, creating large scale employment opportunities.
World’s smallest transistor – a
little bigger than a molecule
Scientists have
created
the
world’s smallest
transistor, measuring a little
bigger than a
molecule, a feat
which they claim
could spark the
development
of
super-fast
computer chips
in the future.
Using the world’s thinnest material
called grapheme, a team at University
of Manchester has produced the transistor which is one atom thick and ten
atoms wide, marking the first true electronic nanocomponent.
BEL profits up marginally
BEL has reported a marginal rise of
4.45% in net profit at Rs.750 crore
for the year ended 31st March, 2008.
The company, which earned 84% of its
revenues from the defence sector, reported just 4.09% growth in turnover at
Rs.4,114 crore during the period.
few weeks.
Reliance ropes in former AMD
head for semiconductor foray
Intel plans cheaper laptop
The price barrier for entry-level notebook PC might be challenged again
with Intel planning to launch such a
product with a price tag of below $300
(Rs 12,600). Though there have been
many attempts at breaking the price
barrier in the PC industry, the resultant
machine has not been a fully functional
device.
IBM launches AnyPlace kiosk
IT giant IBM has rolled out said to be
a new IBM AnyPlace kiosk model in
the country, which would enable its clients to provide an increased number of
self-service options to their customers.
“This ideal solution for small independent retailers and departments of large
enterprises to use for a variety of entrylevel kiosk applications,” IBM India;s
Vice-president, Systems & Technology
Group, Rahul Bindal said. The kiosk will
give access to small retailers to benefit
from affordable and advanced technology, which previously, was limited to
large enterprises.
PC, Laptop prices rise
All Laptop and PC vendors have hiked
their prices. Most manufacturers in the
city have increased prices by 7-13%.
The hike follows depreciation of the
Rupee against the dollar in the past
The Reliance group headed by Mr.
Mukesh Ambani group has hired the
former head of chip maker AMD’s
business in India, Mr. Ajay Marathe,
for its semiconductor foray. After quitting AMD, Mr. Marathe had moved to
SemIndia. He is learnt to have joined
as CEO of semiconductor business.
Industry sources confirmed that Mr.
Marathe had moved to Reliance about
a month back, when the group started
working on the plans for its fab business. Reliance has planned investment
of around Rs 30,000 Crores in the business.
3G chipmakers line-up to enter
India
Even though India is yet to issue licences for mobile telecom services based
on third-generation (3G) technology,
major semiconductor makers are projecting that sales of 3G-enabled chips
for handsets will soar globally. India
and China, the world’s biggest markets
for mobile handsets, are yet to allow
3G services. But chip manufacturers
such as Qualcomm and NXP Semiconductors are wasting no time bringing
out 3G-enabled single-chips, which are
seen significantly lowering prices of the
device. “The global sales of handsets
which are 3G-enabled is expected to
be 230 million in 2008. This is expected
to spurt to 450 million units by January
2010 and will touch 680 million devices
by 2012,” Qualcomm senior director of
product management Mohit Bhushan
said, citing data from Strategy Analytics. Qualcomm will bring out the first
single chip-based handset for mobile
broadband based on the HSPA protocol by the end of 2008. The company
provides 3G chipsets to over 30 customers worldwide and has over 250
devices in the design and production
stages.
India’s IT industry to more than
double revenues by 2012
India’s information technology and ITenabled services industry will more than
double in size by 2012, led by a fast-expanding domestic market, according to
a report released by IDC India on 30th
April, 2008. The industry’s revenues,
May-Jun ‘08
11
Industry Update
including those from export markets, is
expected to reach Rs 5.3 trillion (132
billion dollars) in 2012, from Rs 2.46
trillion last year. Two trillion rupees of
that will come from a domestic market,
which is growing at an average annual
rate of 18.4 per cent, outpacing overall
industry growth of 16.5 per cent.
HCL Infosystems buys NTPL
HCL Infosystems Company has acquired Jaipur-based niche banking
software product firm Natural
Technologies
(NTPL) for 8.39
crore. The acquisition would strengthen
the banking, financial services & insurance (BFSI) vertical of its growing system integration (SI) business, the company said. HCL Infosystems had last
acquired systems development and integration firm FEC Singapore in 1999.
New circuit may lead to
computer with instant start
Reports from Chicago reveal that Scientists have developed a “Memristor”.
Conventional computers use a dynamic
RAM, which is lost when the power is
turned off. But a computer that incorporates this new Memristor - memory
circuit - would never lose its place, even
when power is turned off. If the Computer with new memory is turned on,
it will come up instantly where it works
when turned off – an interesting potential application, very realistic
IT boosts companies’ profits by
30%
According to a study by the India Development Fund, Microsoft and LexisNexis Butterworth’s India, the use of
information technology (IT) by business increases profits by 30 per cent.
Intel, Samsung, TSMC to
manufacture 450mm wafers
Intel Corporation, Samsung Electronics, and TSMC have announced they
have reached agreement on the need
for industry-wide collaboration to target a transition to larger, 450mm-sized
wafers starting in 2012. The transition
to larger wafers will enable continued
growth of the semiconductor industry
and help maintain a reasonable cost
structure for future integrated circuit
12
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s O utlook
manufacturing and applications.
PC-to-phone calls soon
According to reports the Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (Trai)
will soon allow connectivity between
PC and fixed and mobile phones. This
would mean that telephone calls could
be made from a personal computer to a
fixed phone or a mobile phone. These
are currently not allowed.
IBM working on talking website
In an effort to take technology to the
grassroot level, IT major IBM India
Private Limited is working on a talking
website at its India Research Laboratory. This will ensure that even the unlettered can create a website and access
information from others for business
transactions.
India are more than thrice the global average of 6%. According to Mr. S. Janakiraman, President, ISA, the growth
opportunities in the domestic semiconductor market could see some localization of product design and manufacturing. The workforce employed by the
semiconductor design services industry
is expected to grow to 2.19 lakh in 2010
from 1.3 lakh in 2007.
Dell aims at becoming $1 billion
company by year-end
Computer maker Dell Inc aims to become a $1-billion company in India by
end-2008 and has drawn up aggressive
expansion plans to achieve the target.
Dell, which is a leading global systems
and services company, has so far invested around USD 30-million into its
India operations. Presently, the company manufactures around 4,00,000
The India centre is leading the global
project that is being carried out in all
the eight IBM research centers.
Chip design market to touch
$11 billion by 2010
As per a joint study by ISA and IT
research firm IDC, the Indian semiconductor design services market is
forecast to grow by an annual 21.7%
to $11 billion by 2010. The market
was valued at $6 billion. The embedded systems segment is expected to
record the highest growth, followed by
VLSI of transistor-based circuits into a
chip, and hardware design. At $4.9 billion, revenue from embedded software
accounted for around 81% of the total
value of semiconductor design services
in 2007. Growth rates for the sector in
desk tops in a year. Post the ramp-up,
its unit’s capacity would increase to
1-million computers per year, including laptops from its Chennai plant. It
also launched a notebook designed for
emerging economies such as India and
China. According to Mr. Paul-Henri Ferrand, President, Asia Pacific, Dell, India
was the fastest growing market for Dell
worldwide. Laptops have emerged as
the fastest-growing form factor and Dell
has decided to focus on laptops worldwide as a strategic growth priority and
the start of laptop production in India is
an important part of Dell’s plans.
Microsoft extends Windows XP
life to counter Linux threat
In what is being perceived as a move
to counter the threat of Linux – a free
operating system – in the ultra-lowcost personal computer (ULCPC) segment, Microsoft has extended the sale
of Windows XP Home by two years to
OEMs beyond the current deadline of
June 30. Ultra-low-cost PCs have been
drawing interest from governments and
Industry Update
schools in emerging markets like India
and Asia.
Bharti Airtel has entered into a three
year sourcing deal with Firstsource Solutions for voice and back office operations. According to the agreement, the
BPO would render services for voice
and back office in customer accounting, VAS provisioning, fraud and credit
monitoring, customer service, collections, customer retention from its centers in Chennai and Mumbai, in the first
year, Firstsource would set up.
IBM launches energy-efficient
server & supercomputer
IT major IBM launched two products
– a UNIX server and water-cooled supercomputer - on 14th April/08 which
have energy-saving capabilities and
would help users tackle problems in
fields such as energy, aerospace and
weather modeling.
Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is understood to be exploring the option of selecting four Mobile
Number Portability (MNP) operators on
a regional basis as opposed to TRAI’s
recommendation of a single centralized agency for offering MNP solutions
across the country. MNP is a facility
through which a subscriber can retain
the same number even after changing
the service provider.
‘Spectrum at fair cost’
The Telecom Minister, Mr. Raja, says
Canada based Research in Motion
(RIM) (known as Blackberry) has promised to provide monitoring system to
DoT within a month. According to Government, the Blackberry controversy
will be resolved soon after addressing
all concerns raised by security agencies. Solving the issue of Blackberry
is high on our agenda, according to
Telecom Minister. “We are confident
of reaching a solution among the Department of Telecom, RIM and security
agencies next month and we assure
you that consumers’ interest and security concerns will be taken care”.
Airtel launches ‘Dial a postpaid’
scheme
Telecom services provider Bharti-Airtel
today announced the launch of “Dial a
Postpaid” for mobile users. With a tariff
plan of Rs 400, a customer can make
local calls at 50 paise, all STD calls at
Re1 and 800 local minutes and SMS
free of charge.
Foreign, new players not allowed
for 3G bids
Videocon to launch telecom
services
Faced with legal & technological hurdles, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has decided not to allow
foreign as well as new players to bid for
3G services. However, as a token gesture, DoT might add in the new guidelines, to be framed shortly, that these
players can enter the fray if they hold
equity stakes in existing service providers.
Videocon says, it would start rolling out
telecom network from mid August this
year and was eyeing to garner about
10% of the Indian Telecom market in
five years. “The group is aiming for 50
million subscribers in five years. The
Indian market will have crossed 500
million by then”, says a Company Official.
Blackberry issue to be resolved
soon
Bharti inks outsourcing deal
with Firstsource
Amid growing controversy over the
pricing and allocation of spectrum, the
government has said it will ensure that
the licences are awarded at a reasonable cost so that the operators can
create a long-term profitable business
model. Telecom Minister, Mr. Raja,
said in Kuala Lumpur, “We also need
to ensure that the licences are awarded
at a reasonable cost, so that the operators can create a long-term profitable
business model out of it for the whole
eco-system.”
Motorola, BSNL ink $90m deal:
US based telecom equipment manufacturer Motorola has bagged a $90 million
GSM contract from state-owned Bharat
Sanchar Nigam Limited. The US Company will provide equipment for BSNL’s
network expansion in Southern India
aimed at adding 2.3 million subscribers
in the region. Under the terms of the
contract, Motorola will ship GSM network equipment and provide a network
services programme including both
software and hardware support. Sup-
ply of equipment had already begun in
April and would significantly help BSNL
in the required capacity enhancement,
according to the report.
US PE Company invests $640
million in ABTL
Private equity firm Providence Equity of
US is investing $640 million in Aditya
Birla Telecom (ABTL), a wholly owned
subsidiary of Idea Cellular Ltd, by acquiring a 20% stake. The funds will be
used for network rollout and ongoing
May-Jun ‘08
13
Industry Update
operations of ABTL in the Bihar circle.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory
approvals, is expected to close by August 2008. Idea Cellular operates in 11
circles in India with 24 million customers.
Telecom Minister asks BSNL to
ramp up broadband connections
Communications Minister, Mr. A. Raja
has asked telecom services major
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)
FMCG players to retailers to IPL teams
to even political parties.
Trai favours licensor for
mobile VAS providers
India to have 529 million telecom
subscribers by 2010
Value-added Services (VAS) and mobile-content providers may soon come
under a licensing regime. Security concerns regarding VAS has come to the
forefront in the ongoing debate over
security issues surrounding BlackBerry
Services in India. With the Telecom
Ministry indicating possible rollout of 3G
services from next year, the Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), in
a consultation paper released today,
raised the issue of bringing content
providers or aggregators called Valuadded Services providers (VASPs) under the licensing regime.
India will continue to be the first-growing telecom market in the world and
its subscriber base will witness a compound annual growth rate of 28% till
2010 to touch 529 million, as against
310 million customers at present, according to a joint report released by
industry body ASSOCHAM and PWC.
As per the report, the rest of Asia will
witness a growth of 22%, while for both
China and Africa, the projected growth
rates are 14% each, during this period.
RCOM buys UK’s Vanco for
$77m
to ramp up its broadband services to
reach the target of 20 million connections nation-wide by 2010. The suggestion came in the context of the slow
growth of broadband connections in
the country.
Bharti Airtel ties up with HTC
Bharti Airtel has announced a strategic
tie-up with global smartphone company HTC to offer a large-scale mobile
broadband application, including seamless internet and browsing experience.
Under this tie-up, HTC Touch diamond,
the smartphone, will offer a wide-range
of services, including YouTube application for watching video content. It will
give access to Airtel Live for providing
entertainment on mobile.
DoT seeks AG’s views on open
3G bidding
The Department of Telecom (DoT) is
keen to open up the 3G auction process but wants to play it safe. Communications Minister Mr. Raja says that
foreign players would be allowed to
participate in the bidding for 3G spectrum, it is learnt that DoT has referred
the matter to the Attorney General.
Mobile Market to touch Rs. 500
Cr by 2010
Advertising on mobile phone may be
about irritating text messages. But it’s
a blooming business that’s fast catching up with all sorts of advertisers, from
14
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s O utlook
RCOM has acquired the UK-based
global managed network services provider, Vanco for $77million. The acquisition was made
through RCOM’s
subsidiary
Reliance Globalcom.
Tata Comm agreement with
Etisalat
Tata Communications has signed an
agreement with UAE-based telco Emirates Telecommunications Corporation
(Etisalat) to provide enterprise network
services in the Gulf country. Under the
agreement, both companies would work
together to deliver ‘secure, scalable
and flexible’ Ethernet and other connectivity solutions. Through Etisalat’s
network, Tata Communications would
enhance its coverage in the strategic
location of UAE.
RIM meets DoT, solution awaited
As a part of their on-going talks with
the Indian Government, Canada-based
provider of Blackberry services, Research-in Motion (RIM), met officials of
the Department of Telecommunications
(DoT). They discussed probable solutions to pending issues on the Blackberry Services in India. DoT had asked
RIM to provide the master key so as to
allow access to contents transferred
over the handheld device. However,
RIM in a letter to its customers had
clarified that it would be “unable to accommodate any request for a copy of
a customer’s encryption” through which
customer data can be intercepted by
security agencies.
Samsung launches new mobile
Samsung Telecommunications India
(STI), has announced to launch its flagship model (SGH-U900) in the country.
Samsung also announced the launch of
seven new, stylish, advanced mobiles
in the country across the popular Guru
series, multimedia (music and imaging) and the business phone segment.
Reinforcing its lifestyle positioning, the
Company announced its foray into the
mobile accessory business in the country by launching lifestyle mobile accessories in the market.
Open code or shut shop, DoT
tells RIM
The Department of Telecommunication
(DoT) is learnt to have issued an ultimatum to Canada’s RIM, the maker of
the BlackBerry smartphone, that it will
have to provide encryption solutions if
it wants to continue operations in India.
Industry Update
Dot has communicated its stance to
both RIM executives and the Canadian
High Commission that service providers (telcos) would be asked to discontinue BlackBerry services unless the
company provides monitoring solutions
either in the form of encryption keys,
or by shifting servers to India. Sources
also said that DoT had told the Canadian Company that the recent meet
could be the last of a series of meetings on the issue, and RIM would have
to come back with a solution to break
the deadlock.
Airtel cuts STD rates from 30th
April, 2008
Following government’s decision to
remove ADC component on domestic
calls from 1st April, 2008, Bharti Airtel
has announced that it will slash the STD
call rates by around 43% to Rs.1.50
per minute (from Rs.2.65/minute) and
the roaming charges to Re.1/minute
(from Rs.1.75/minute) across all tariff
plans with effect from 30th April, 2008.
facility, which reportedly covers an area
of just 211 acres.
Telecom Companies suffer
heavy revenue losses
Millions of pre-paid mobile subscribers
in India are able to download a paid
song or game even when their account
balance is zero. The revenue leakage
is caused by telecom frauds, download
leaks and outdated billing systems,
which make Indian Telecom Operators
forego almost US$900 million every
year. Economic Times quotes a recent
survey, by Connectiva systems, a telecom major.
Telecom operators ask TRAI to
fix channel price for IPTV
Telecom operators planning to offer
Internet protocol TV (IPTV) services,
where one can get all TV channels via
fixed line, has urged telecom regulator
Trai to fix prices for channels on this
platform. BSNL, MTNL, Reliance and
Bharti among others, have urged the
telecom regulator to fix channel prices.
4 Telecom, IT Companies join $1
Billion Club
New Economy Companies Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, TCS & Infosys
clocked $1 Billion Profit After Tax in
2007 – 08.
RCOM to retail GSM handsets
Close on the heels of Airtel’s tariff-cut,
Reliance Communications has also announced an un-precedented customer
benefit-unlimited free STD calls. The
scheme will be available across all existing and new Reliance Mobile customers across post-paid, pre-paid and Hellow fixed wireless phone customers.
Motorola plans handset facility
near Chennai
US major Motorola is set to unveil a key
manufacturing facility in the suburbs of
Chennai in the next few days, making
it the second MNC after Nokia to make
significant investments in manufacturing in India. According to industry
sources, the facility, which will eventually be spread over 450 acres or more,
is coming up close to Nokia’s handset
manufacturing unit in Sriperumbdur.
This is significantly larger than Nokia’s
Reliance Communications (RCOM) is
readying itself for a big splash into the
Rs 20,000-crore GSM handset retailing. It will enter into the new avenue
in a month by selling GSM handsets
in the existing eight circles of Reliance
Telecom, a part of RCOM, by the end
of June, 2008. It has signed agreements with major handset vendors, including LG, Samsung, Motorola, Sony
Ericsson, Spice, Fly mobile and HTC. It
is expected to sign a similar agreement
with Nokia shortly.
iPhone will be in India by
September
Iphone, the iconic phone from California-based technology major Apple Inc,
is set to hit Indian shelves by September, 2008. The company is tying up
pricing and revenue-sharing agreements to launch the product in India be-
fore Diwali when consumer spending is
at its peak.
Trai calls for discussion on
spectrum allocation
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India (TRAI) has issued a consultation
paper for a detailed discussion on allocation and pricing of spectrum in a different band for data transfer or internet
services. The government is planning to
issue under 2.3-2.4 GHz, 2.5-2.69 GHz
and 3.3-3.6 GHz bands. These bands
will be used for broadband wireless
services commonly known as wimax
and not for the voice transfer.
Cell phone for Farmers
Bharti Airtel Limited and Indian Farmers Cooperative Ltd (I) have formed
a joint venture company – Iffco Kisan
Sanchar Limited (IKSL) – to provide
rural telephony. The new company will
offer products and services, specifically
designed for farmers, through Iffco societies in villages across the country.
The JV is expected to provide a major
push to the country’s agriculture and
rural economy by providing vital information relating to agriculture via mobile
handsets.
Vodafone and Idea to set up
Tower Company
Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular are
exploring the possibility of floating a
separate tower or passive infrastructure company in seven circles (spread
across
12
states)
where
Indus Towers is
not present. In
December 2007,
Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea
had
merged
their
wireless
infrastructure
businesses
and formed the
World’s largest
May-Jun ‘08
15
Industry Update
tower company – Indus Towers – but
the latter is restricted to only 16 circles
as Vodafone Essar operates only in
these many circles while idea provides
telecom services in 11 circles.
Aircel to invest $5 billion for
network expansion
Maxis Communications – owned mobile service provider, aircel is planning
to invest close to $5
billion over the next
four years in India
for network enhancement and expansion.
Aircel has invested about $2 billion in
its Indian operations so far with $500
million in 2007 alone.
BSNL, RCom to Share
Infrastructure
State-owned telecom major Bharat
Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) has initiated
discussions with private telecom player
Reliance Communications (RCom) for
sharing active and passive infrastructure. If the deal gets through, this would
be BSNL’s first alliance with a private
company and would also help the company set up the largest CDMA network
in the country.
DoT to offer spectrum in 3
circles
Following allocation of spectrum for new
entrants in Tamil Nadu and Orissa, the
DoT is now preparing to allocate spectrum in three new circles, namely Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
These three circles have been chosen
as they have enough spectrum available for the six to seven applications
that have been received for each of the
22 circles in India.
Spice Telecom launches visa
status service
Spice Telecom has announced the
launch of new service ‘Spice Visa Sta-
tus’, which will allow users to know
the status of visa applications of over
10 countries, including the US, the
UK, Canada and Australia, through an
SMS. All Spice Post-paid and Pre-paid
subscribers would be charged Rs. 13
per SMS sent for using this premium
service.
Additional spectrum for Bharti in
Karnataka
Government is understood to have
cleared the way for allotment of additional spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz for
Bharti Airtel in Karnataka, a move that
would lead to distribution of start-up
frequency new telcos. Communication and IT Minister A. Raja is likely to
consider allotment of fresh spectrum to
new telecom players along with additional frequency to Bharti soon.
Bharti, 15 others sign pact to
boost India-UK connectivity
To enhance connectivity between India and UK, 15 major telecom players across the globe, including India’s
Bharti Airtel, have signed the formal
construction and maintenance agreement to build the first direct, high-bandwidth optical-fiber submarine cable
system from UK to India. To be set up
at an investment of $700 million, the
Europe India Gateway (EIG) cable system would become operational in second quarter of 2010.
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s O utlook
Alcatel-Lucent to join RCom for
managed network services
Reliance communications (RCom) has
entered into a joint venture pact with
global infrastructure provider AlcatelLucent, to provide managed network
services (MNS) to telecom service providers in the country. This is the first
time two major Companies have come
together to jointly tap the emerging potential to MNS, a nascent sector in the
country.
The companies will float a new entity,
which will kick off operations by providing services to RCom’s CDMA and
GSM networks. The new entity will initially focus on services to 12 circles in
Northern and Western India.
Tata Communications, Idea,
HSBC tie-up for money transfer
3G players not suited for India:
Trai cautions Finance Minister
Tata Communications along with Idea
Cellular, Etisalat, and HSBC India,
launched a mobile phone-based money
remittance service to its subscribers. As
part of the service, UAE-based Indian
immigrants can transfer money to their
families based in India and the service
would complement existing remittance
channels and make transferring money
internationally more affordable.
Amid debate over entry of foreign players in 3G telecom services, Telecom
Regulator (TRAI) has cautioned the Finance Ministry that such a move would
have serious implications for this sector
in terms of affordability.
MTNL to offer TV channels on
mobiles
Telecom operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) says it will
launch mobile TV next month, for which
it is carrying out field trials at present.
MTNL has tied up with a technology
partner, who is carrying out the field trials. MTNL executive Director J. Gopal
16
says “We would provide 21 channels”.
TRAI says it firmly believes that allowing participation of new prospective
service providers for 3G services, at the
juncture, will have serious implications
on the Indian telecom sector. TRAI has
suggested re-examination of the issues
before finalizing the Ministry’s position
on the subject.
TRAI for internet telephony
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has initiated a consultation
paper seeking views from the industry
Industry Update
and experts on issues like permitting
the internet service providers (ISPs) to
have interconnection with landline and
mobile telephones to provide internet
telephony within the country.
If this suggestion is accepted and approved by the government, telecom tariffs for national and international calling
may become cheaper.
According to existing licensing provisions, there is no restriction on international, PC-to-PC calls through internet telephony. However, ISPs are
not permitted to have interconnection
with public switched telephone network
(PSTN) or public land mobile network
(PLMN) exchanges to provide internet
telephony within India.
Airtel ties up with Apple to
launch iPhone in India – the
rollout will be world’s largest
Bharti Airtel has announced a tie-up
with US-based Apple to bring the popu-
lar GSM-based iPhone in the country.
“Bharti Airtel has signed a deal with
Apple to introduce the iPhone in India
later this year,” the company said in a
statement.
The rollout of Apple, Inc’s iPhones in
India is set to be the largest, anywhere
in the world. It is understood from industry sources that Apple’s iPhones
will be sold through about 2.5 lakh. Vodafone and Airtel retail outlets including
franchisee owned shops. This rollout
would be mammoth when compared to
iPhones being available only in about
7000 AT&T outlets in the US apart from
the Apple Stores.
Tata Comm, Sonus join hands to
offer voice calls over Net
Tata Communications says it has partnered with US-based Sonus to build
network to offer phone calls over the
internet globally. “The company has
selected Sonus complete fixed trunking
solution to provide its IP-voice services
in nine cities across three continents.”
DoT awards spectrum in Kerala
The Department of Telecom allocated
GSM spectrum to new players in Kerala. Datacom Solutions, BPL Group
Company promoted Loop Telecom,
Swan Telecom, Aska Projects, and
Tata Teleservices have all been allocated 4.4 MHz of spectrum each to
start operations in the state.
Currently, there are four players operating in the State – Idea Cellular, Vodafone-Essar, Bharti Airtel and Government-owned BSNL.
Onida to launch mobile phones
Close on the heels of acquiring a
61.07% controlling stake (1.10 lakh
shares) in Mirc Electronics’ investment
firm Gusivo, Chairman Gulu Mirchandani is wasting no time in widening his
portfolio of brands to tap the immense
growth potential in electronic goods.
He is planning to launch mobile phones
in the Indian market under the Onida
brand, in addition to the existing brands
of the company in consumer electronics. To start with, Onida will have
seven models of mobile phones with
prices ranging between Rs.1500 and
Rs.8000. The company plans to invest
Rs.15-20 crores in launching marketing
initiatives.
Phones get cheaper, spares
don’t
Mobile phones prices have crashed between 25 and 40% in the last one year,
but spare parts remain more or less
where they were. While Nokia N73 was
priced at Rs.22,000 in March 2007, in
April 2008, this price has come down
to Rs.12,000/-, while the price of the
battery was unchanged at Rs.2,250.
In a carefully crafted strategy to push
handset sales, several mobile handset makers prefer to keep the prices of
spare parts and batteries high so that
customers go for new handsets.
Shyam closes in on Rs.5,000-
crore infrastructure deal with
RTIL
In what could be the first active infrastructure sharing
arrangement in the
country, Russian
communications
major
Sustenacontrolled Shyam
Telecom is learnt to be in advanced
talks with Reliance Telecom Infrastructure Ltd (RTIL) for a Rs.5,000-crore
deal spread over 10 years. As per the
arrangement, Shyam Telecom will offer mobile services by riding on RTIL’s
infrastructure – both active and passive
– for 10 years. Shyam was recently allotted CDMA start-up spectrum across
12 circles, covering 16 States.
France Telecom gets DoT nod
for long-distance ops
Global communications major, France
Telecom has got approval from DoT to
launch national and international longdistance operations in India. The company becomes the fifth international
communications major to receive permission (the other four being US-based
AT&T and Verizon, British Telecom
and Cable & Wireless. Of these players, AT&T and British Telecom have
already launched their services, while
Cable & Wireless is on the verge of
launching.) At present, the business
generated by the long-distance segment in India is estimated to be worth
over Rs.10,000 crore annually.
Tata Tele to buzz PEs for $1
billion
Tata Teleservices (TTSL) is planning
to raise more than
$1 billion by selling
a chuck of its stake
(15-30%) to private
equity (PE) and strategic investors for its expansion in both
CDMA and the soon-to-be-launched
GSM services. The Tata Tele deal,
which is being run by Lazard, could be
bigger than the Bharti Infratel deal.
BSNL losing 8% market share
per year to private players
According to a report of the Standing
Committee on IT tabled in Parliament
recently, BSNL is losing 8% of its market share every year mainly in wireless
May-Jun ‘08
17
Industry Update
operations to private companies. As on
October 2007, 273 million connections
have already been provided and the
share of BSNL had declined to 27.6%
as on December 2007, whereas the
share of private sector increased to
over 72%.
across categories like audio-video, domestic appliances, personal care and
lighting solutions. Philips India CEO
(Indian subcontinent) Murali Sivaraman
says, BRIC (Brazil, India and China)
countries are the future growth engines
for Philips across the three verticals.
PowerGrid in JV talks with
telcos for NLD operations
TV prices may soar 12% on new
anti-dumping duty on CPT
State-owned
According to a statement by CEAMA,
prices of colour televisions could rise
as much as 12% as a result of the
government’s decision to levy an antidumping duty on imports of Colour
Picture Tubes from China, Malaysia,
Korea and Thailand. The TV manufacturers have strongly opposed this decision, as it will adversely impact their
manufacturing cost. The CTV market
in India is estimated to touch 12.5 million units this year, with over 70% of the
market volume expected to be contributed by flat TVs. With consumer preference shifting towards flatter displays,
the market for slim/ultra-slim TVs is expected to be 0.9 to 1.0 million units this
year. The domestic market for CPTs
grew 44% from a level of 10.6 million in
2005-06 to 15.3 million units in 200607. However, CEAMA has reported
that the production capacity of domestic CPT manufacturers remains insufficient to meet the growing demand of
the industry.
transmission operator
PowerGrid Corporation of India is all to
set to enter the lucrative national long
distance (NLD) operations. The company, which had
obtained a licence to
offer NLD services in
2006, is in talks with
Unitech, Videocon
and Shyam Telecom to share its infrastructure, especially its optic fibre cable,
for facilitating NLD rollout. The company is also learnt to be in talks with service providers to offer its transmission
towers to them on a long-term basis for
installation of WiMax equipment when
operators begin to use this technology
platform for broadband services. PowerGrid has over 22,000 km of optic fibre
cable, which connects over 110 large
cities and towns. Only Airtel, BNSL,
RCom & Tatas have country-wide optic
fibre cable networks.
Videocon Industries Q2 net up
8%
Philips India to have ‘sense and
simplicity’
Eyes Integrated marketing of Electronics, Healthcare, Lghting: Philips is planning to adopt an integrated marketing
approach for core businesses – consumer electronics, healthcare and lighting – for key markets like India. Apart
from giving its global campaign ‘sense
and simplicity’ and Indian touch, Philips
will also introduce a range of products
18
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s O utlook
Videocon Industries has posted
16.76% rise in net sales for the second
quarter ended March 2008, at Rs.2514
crore compared with Rs.2,182 crore
in the corresponding period last year.
The company registered a net profit of
Rs.251 crore for the quarter under review, up 8% compared with Rs.231.43
crore for the previous corresponding
quarter. During the period, Videocon’s
consumer electronics business grew
by 13% to Rs.2,061 crore.
CTV sales jump 20% in dull
season
According to CEAMA, the ongoing IPL
cricket has increased the sales of Colour Televisions in the country in the
usually dull April-June quarter. Though
CTV sales grew by a marginal 5.5%
during Jan-Feb and 15% in April, the
TV manufacturers expect the sales to
rise by 20-25% in May this year against
last year’s sales.
LG Electronics repositioning
brand in India
In order to adopt the global brand repositioning strategy, LG Electronics India
is charting out three major corporate
and marketing initiatives for the Indian
market too in this fiscal, and will invest Rs.380 crore for the purpose. The
three major initiatives planned by LG
are – Upgradation of 100 brand shops
with new retail brand identified by midnext year, Communication reflecting
brand identity and flagship products at
brand shops, and a consistent product
roadmap in delivering the new brand
identify.
LG India to invest $40 million
per year to scale up revenues
LG Electronics is planning to scale up
revenue contribution from its Indian operations from 6% to 10% by 2010. The
company intends to do so by rolling out
products catering to the specific needs
of Indian consumers. It will invest about
$40 million every year for new product
development and expansion of manufacturing infrastructure. LG India will
soon roll out a new line of flat panel displays (FPDs) such as LCDs & Plasma
TVs, top-loading washing machines
and frost-free refrigerators, which will
have premium positioning.
Whirlpool breaks even, to hike
prices by a further 2-3%
Home appliance maker, Whirlpool India is reported to have achieved break
even in the financial year ended March
2008. The company has already reported a net profit of Rs.15 crore for AprilDecember, 2007. The company also
plans to increase prices of its products
by 2-3% in a phased manner in AprilJune, 2008 due to rising raw material
prices.
Feature
P h o t o n i c C h i p s go 3 D
B y E ric Smalley, Technology Research News
The semiconductor industry took off with the adven t o f a
practical and low-cost method of integrating a large n u m b e r
of transistors into a single chip. It is natural then t o e n v ision the possibility of integrated photonics, where i n f o r m ation is processed fully in the optical domain
The dream of building computer chips
that use light signals rather than electricity has entered the realm of serious research in recent years with the
advent of photonic crystal, a material
that blocks and channels light within
extremely small spaces.
Producing practical photonic crystal
chips, however, includes several challenges:
Making three-di mensional
devices that emit light from
specific points
Emit at the wavelengths used
by today’s optical telecommu nications equipment
And can be manufactured us ing processes s uited to mass
production.
Research teams from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and from
Kyoto University have made devices
that meet all three challenges.
The techniques could be used to make
smaller, more efficient communications devices; create optical memory
and quantum computing and communications devices; develop new types
of lasers and biological and chemical
sensors; and could ultimately lead to
all-optical computer processors.
The semiconductor industry took off
with the advent of a practical and lowcost method of integrating a large number of transistors into a single chip,
said Minghao Qi, a research assistant
at MIT. “It is natural then to envision
the possibility of integrated photonics,
where information is processed fully in
the optical domain [at the high] bandwidth of photons,” he said.
Photonic crystal is usually made from
the same semiconductor materials as
computer chips using common chip
making techniques like photolithography. It contains regularly spaced
gaps of air or other materials that form
boundaries within the crystal that refract, or bend, specific wavelengths of
light. Refraction is responsible for the
illusion that a drinking straw bends at
the air-liquid boundary. Portions of
the materials that do not contain gaps
channel light within the crystal and emit
light from it.
munications systems use near-infrared
1.3- and 1.55-micron wavelengths.
The researchers filled specific air holes
and gaps between rods during the
manufacturing process to create solid
areas, or defects, that emit light. “A critical goal in photonic crystal [research]
is the ability to put arbitrary defects with
precisely controlled shapes and sizes
at designed locations,” said Qi.
The two types of two-dimensional photonic crystal in each layer of the threedimensional crystal also allow for polarization control, said Qi. A light beam’s
electric field is ordinarily oriented in a
plane perpendicular to the beam. The
electric field of polarized light is confined to one direction within the plane.
Controlling polarization is important
because transferring light signals from
photonic crystal to optical fibers requires matching the polarizations of the
devices, he said.
The MIT photonic chip has seven layers that each contain two types of twodimensional photonic crystal. One type
is an arrangement of rods surrounded
by air and the other type is solid material perforated with air holes. The rod
slab is positioned above the hole slab
in each layer, and the layers are offset
to produce steps. The holes are about
500 nanometers in diameter, or about
one-tenth the size of a red blood cell.
The material blocks light at wavelengths
of 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5 microns. TelecomMay-Jun ‘08
23
Feature
Feature
The crystal is more efficient
than previous three-dimensional photonic crystals, and the
seven layers can be formed in
four processing steps, said Qi.
The Kyoto University team has
advanced its existing woodpilestructured three-dimensional
photonic crystal with a method
to make solid areas in specific locations and have shown
that the material precisely
controlled light, said Susumu
Noda, a professor of electronic science and engineering at
Kyoto University.
The woodpile photonic crystal consists of perpendicular
layers of semiconductor rods.
The researchers’ design calls
for 200-nanometer-wide rods
spaced 700 nanometers center
to center. The photonic crystal
controls 1.55-micron light.
The researchers also sandwiched a light source inside
their photonic crystal, which is
a step toward fully integrated
optical devices, said Noda.
The MIT process could be used
to make practical telecommunications devices and biological
24
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s O utlook
and chemical sensors in two
to three years, said Qi. Highquality devices that could be
coupled to optical fiber could
take five years, he said. Simple all-optical computer chips
could take 10 years to develop,
he said.
Devices based on the Kyoto
method could become practical in five to ten years, said
Susumu.
The use of photonic devices
has the potential to revolutionize our life akin to electronics
done in past half century. The
focused research in this area
will introduce much faster and
more reliable photonics devices.
Source : Internet
Speacial Feat ure
Kerala
What makes
for Electronics
Hardware Manufacturing?
Shri Elamaram Karee m , H o n ’ b l e M i n i s t e r f o r
Industries, Kerala, li g h t i n g t h e l a m p d u ring the Workshop on “ E l e c t r o n i c s H a r d w a r e
Industry – Advantag e K e r a l a ” i n K o c h i o n
25th April 2008. Loo k i n g o n a r e ( f r o m l e f t ) :
Mr. Rajoo Goel, Sec y . G e n . E L C I N A ; M r . T
Balakrishnan, Princi p a l S e c r e t a r y , I n d u s t r i e s ,
Kerala; Mr. Jainder S i n g h , S e c r e t a r y , D I T ,
GOI; Mr. Manoj Josh i , M D , K S I D C a n d M r . A
G Rohira, ELCINA Pr e s i d e n t
A section of the part i c i p a n t s d u r i n g
the p rogramme.
For information on what Kerala has to
offer to investors, please contact:
Kerala State Industrial Development
Corporation Limited (KSIDC)
Keston Road, Kowdiar,
Trivandrum, Kerala - 695 003
Phone: +91-471-2318922
Fax: 2315893
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.ksidc.org
attractive
ELCINA and Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation
(KSIDC) jointly organized a Workshop on “Electronics Manufacturing Industry – Advantage Kerala”
on 25th April 2008 at Le-Meridian
Convention Center, Kochi. The
Workshop served to provide information and showcase Kerala
as one of the best destinations for
electronics hardware manufacturing in India.
The Hon’ble Minister for Industries, Government of Kerala, Shri.
Elamaram Kareem, inaugurated
the function. Addressing a large
gathering of industry members,
Shri Kareem said “Kerala plans
to set-up an SEZ exclusive for IT
hardware manufacturing for which
preliminary work has already
been completed”. He added that
the State Government was planning to extend all the concessions
available to the IT industry to the
electronics hardware industry
such as “special power tariffs,
FAR of five, exemption from stamp
duty and registration fees for units
established in IT hardware Parks.
IT hardware units established in
Kerala are also entitled to 10%
price preference in IT hardware
procurements by the Kerala government, PSU’s and government
bodies.”
Delivering the keynote address
Mr. Jainder Singh IAS, Secretary
(IT), Government of India said
that, “The Indian market for electronics is expected to grow to US$
320 billion in 2015 with a potential for Indian domestic hardware
manufacturing also to grow up to
US$155 billion in 2015”. He added that, “Electronics manufacturing has the potential to generate
employment for even low skilled
people left out of the software
opportunity. The Government of
India has over the last few years,
taken a number of measures to
promote the growth of electronics/IT hardware manufacturing.
As a result, the hardware industry
in India is at a take-off stage.” He
also talked about the new policy of
Government of India for establish-
ing IT Investment Regions (ITIRs).
The IT Investment Regions could
contain SEZs within them. Both
the State and the Central Govt.
shall provide necessary infrastructure in areas that they are
responsible for. Mr. Singh added
that following the announcement
of the Semiconductor Policy to
provide investment subsidy to IT
hardware units, the Govt has received investment proposals of
over Rs.62,000/- crores.
Representatives from the electronics industry in Kerala shared
their success stories in running
their businesses in the State and
welcomed the State Government’s initiatives in attracting investments. Apart from the support
and incentives provided by the
State Government, Kerala has the
distinction of having a high pool of
skilled manpower and a conducive environment for the electronics industry to flourish.
Other dignitaries who spoke during the programme included Mr. T
Balakrishnan, Principal Secretary
(Industries), Mr. Manoj Joshi, IAS,
Managing Director, KSIDC, and
Mr. A G Rohira, President, ELCINA.
The Workshop included Panel
Discussions on what makes Kerala attractive. These were led by
Mr G Vijayaraghavan, Chairman,
Venture Capital Associates, Capt.
O P Dua, MD KELTRON and Ms
Pamela Anna Mathew, CEO OEN
India Ltd.
The Industries Minister Shri E Kareem has distinguished himself by
taking a keen interest and a very
pro-active approach in promoting
the electronics hardware industry which is instrumental in modernizing almost all industries. He
has earned a reputation for being
receptive to the industry and for
taking quick, well-considered decisions. Shri Kareem has successfully projected himself as a “friend
of the industry” and is known to be
accessible to everyone.
May-Jun ‘08
25
Quality
Quality
Contract Manufacturing
How to Win?
Success in contract manufacturing is lead by fact o r s s u c h
as product quality, cost competitiveness, delivery s c h e d u l e
an d CM/OEM relationship.
In today’s competitive environment, the
electronics manufacturing business is
quite challenging. The development
of new components and technologies
demands high capital investment and
specialised resources. The increasing complexity of electronic products
has phased out manual assembly
methods and forced manufacturers to
utilise hi-tech automatic manufacturing
techniques. Of late, original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) have opted to
outsource the manufacturing process.
This works out to be more cost-effective
for them since their internal resources
can be focused on more important aspects of business such as design and
marketing. This trend among OEMs
has led to a boom in a phenomenon
called contract manufacturing (CM).
The CM business in the field of electronics is growing rapidly worldwide,
and is expected to further accelerate
at a very robust rate over the next five
years. It has been observed that production equipment being used by different manufacturers is quite similar. In
manufacturing, much of the cost competitiveness comes from the manufacturing process yield. This yield can be
increased through an accurate control
and handling of the manufacturing
equipment, careful selection of materials and their proper handling on the assembly line. In other words, the manufacturing process yield depends on the
knowledge of the production/process
engineers, and how well they are able
to motivate and educate production operators.
26
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s Outlook
Winning Factors in Contract
Manufacturing
(ii) solder/solder paste, flux, etc are of
good quality, and
Electronics manufacturing has undergone a tremendous change with the
transition from through-hole to surface-mount technology. New materials such as solder paste and no-clean
flux, and new assembly techniques of
paste application, component placement and soldering have been developed. Consumer awareness and global
competition has made it mandatory for
manufacturers to produce high-quality
products at minimum cost within the
delivery schedule. In addition, a thorough understanding of current manufacturing technologies, viz, the surface
mount technology and the wave soldering technology is also essential. Factors
important for achieving success in CM
are product quality, cost competitiveness, delivery schedule and CM/OEM
relationship.
(iii) the process is under control.
Product Quality
Perhaps the most important thing in
contract manufacturing is to produce
high-quality products. This is not a very
difficult task. Modern hi-tech automatic
manufacturing processes are capable
of manufacturing consistently highquality products. A manufacturing process will produce a reliable and quality
product, provided:
(i) PCBs and components have good
solderability,
Cost Competitiveness
Electronics manufacture using surface
mount technology is a capital intensive
process because equipment required
is expensive. If a line is dedicated to a
single product or customer, it can end
up lying idle during a break in the product flow, or during a product change.
As a consequence, the manufacturing
cost shoots up. The most efficient way
to handle this is to use all lines, 24 hours
a day, for any new product. The use of
new packaging technologies in manufacturing replaces a group of discrete
components by an integrated circuit,
thus bringing down the manufacturing
as well as product cost. Another way
to bring down the manufacturing cost is
to eliminate the need for some post-assembly operations such as inspection
and touch-up.
Delivery Schedule
Time is money. All OEMs demand
that their products be delivered within
contractual time frames. The success
of a CM largely depends on whether it
is capable of meeting this requirement
of OEMs. Maintaining a consistent and
strict delivery schedule involves close
planning of the entire production. Such
a planning involves: Control of incoming materials. For this purpose, the
Quality
FIFO principle should be followed.
Maintaining an operating schedule of
the production line. This can be taken
care of by determining the number of
lines and shifts needed, the manpower
required and the process yield.
CM/OEM Relationship
The success of contract manufacturing
depends on the mutual understanding
between the contract manufacturer and
the OEM. The former must know how
to service the latter, and must make
clear his requirements (to the OEM) in
advance. The relationship depends on
mutual trust, and hence the communication between the two parties must
remain open. This will help both the
sides to understand the requirements
of maintaining the partnership.
Managing the Manufacturing
Shop Floor
In manufacturing, a better yield can
be obtained through controlling the
process, process optimisation, understanding and implementing new technologies, and training and motivation
of the production shop-floor personnel.
Controlling the process: Process control is a tool which helps the manufacturer to run the process in such a way
that results are as per the specifications. Process control is performed by:
(i) determining process control limits
(using the process window),
(ii) monitoring process results (data
collection),
(iii) analysing the collected data, and
(iv) implementing corrective actions, if
necessary.
The manufacturing process consists of
a number of steps, and for each manufacturing step there is a process window
with upper and lower control limits. For
example, in the stencil-printing process
in SMT manufacturing using solder
paste, the relation between the squeegee speed and the amount of solder
paste applied on printed circuit boards
must be measured. The desired setting
Quality
of machines and their tolerance can
be derived out of this measurement.
In the same way, process windows for
other parameters of stencil printing, viz,
squeegee pressure, snap-off distance
etc can be determined. Process windows for component placement and
reflow in the SMT manufacturing also
have to be determined. It is advisable
to document and describe in detail all
agreed specifications and determined
process windows. This document
called ‘process description’ is an important document for controlling and
optimising the manufacturing process.
After the individual process windows
have been determined and defined, the
total production line needs to be set up
according to the process description
document.
To verify the production defect level,
the first step is to assemble a few hundred or thousand boards in accordance
with the predefined description. Those
boards are then inspected to calculate the defect level. Finally, this data
is compared with the targeted defect
level. Process optimisation: The most
tangible aspect of process optimisation is the balancing of cycle time of the
manufacturing line. This balancing is
based on the slowest process step. For
example, an accurate printing of solder
paste cannot be achieved with speeds
available on the stencil printer, on account of several technical restrictions.
For example, assume that the minimum
cycle time for solder paste printing has
been determined as 25 seconds t a
squeegee speed of 8cm/sec. When a
cycle time shorter than this is required,
it cannot be achieved with one stencil
printing machine alone, even though
the machine is physically capable of
much faster squeegee speeds. In such
a situation, the line must be set up with
two stencil printers working in parallel;
the process description also needs to
be updated.
Understanding and implementing new
technologies: It is the contract manufacturer’s responsibility to master new
packaging technologies without diminishing the productivity. Assembly
equipment must be versatile enough
to handle traditional surface mount
components while accommodating an
increasing demand for the placement
of emerging packages. The contract
manufacturer must be prepared to
handle all advanced packages in order
to compete in the electronic manufac-
turing business. The use of miniature
packages such as BGAs, CSPs, flipchips etc enables lower manufacturing
costs per placement. This also reduces the size and weight of the product.
The advantage of using CSPs lies in
the fact that one can utilise the existing SMT line for assembly. Further, the
size of the CSP is one-third the size of
traditional high lead count QFPs. This
offers cost, density, yield and performance advantages.
Training and motivation of shop-floor
personnel:
Today,
manufacturing
equipment is very sophisticated. The
person operating them should have a
thorough knowledge of machines, their
working principles, various parameters,
the manufacturing process, materials
and so on. Moreover, to use packages
like BGA, CSP and flip-chip effectively, engineers working on the production floor must be adequately trained.
Unfortunately, some manufacturing
organisations are ready to invest time
and money in purchasing sophisticated
equipment but not on training their personnel. It should be realised that training of the manpower is never an expenditure; it is an investment which brings
quick returns.
Skills and knowledge can never be
acquired overnight through unorganised training. A training programme
should ideally be organised in-house
and, if the expertise is not available,
professional bodies/institutes may be
contacted. The most important way to
succeed in the CM business is motivating and training the manpower. Technology and material-related issues can
be resolved through a judicious use of
resources, but producing quality product depends heavily on the training and
motivation of people on the production
floor.
Conclusion
The CM business is growing at a very
good pace, and the Indian industry can
make profitable use of this opportunity.
The success of contract manufacturing in the field of electronics depends
mainly on product quality, low production cost, on-time delivery and the CM/
OEM relationship. Process optimisation and training of production personnel can also play a crucial role.
Source: EFY network
May-Jun ‘08
27
P o l ic y U p d a t e
Policies, Procedure s &
Business Regulatio n s
Semiconductor Policy attracts Investment of Rs. 65,000 c r o r e s
Notifications
Semiconductor Policy attracts
Investment of Rs. 65,000 crores
In response to the special incentive
package scheme for Semiconductor
Fabrication and other micro and nano
technology manufacturing industries
announced by the Government of India
last year, seven proposals envisaging
an investment of the order of Rs.65,000
crores have been received till date.
Proposals received are for manufacture
of wide variety of items like Polysilicon,
single/multi-crystalline ingots, wafers,
solar cells, solar photovoltaic modules
(SPV) liquid crystal display (LCD), integrated circuits-advanced logic/memory/embedded system on chip including assembly, test, mar and packaging
facility for semiconductor devices.
The investments are envisaged over
a period of ten years. Among the pro-
posals recently received are two large
proposals from Reliance Industries
Limited for establishment of a semiconductor wafer fab with assembly, test,
mark and packaging facility with a total outlay of Rs. 18,521 crores (US $
4.635 billion) over a period of 10 years.
The company would locate this facility
at Navi Mumbai, Hyderabad, Mysore or
Haryana. The company would decide
the final location of the plant after negotiations for incentives from respective
State Governments. It is envisaged that
about 4000 people would be employed
for the fabrication and ATMP units.
The second Reliance plant is to come
up at a cost of Rs. 11,631 crore (US
$ 2.91 billion) at Jamnagar, Gujarat.
It will manufacture Polysilicon, single
crystal/multi crystalline ingots, solar
grade wafers, SPV modules with a
capacity of 1 Giga Watt. The Plant is
expected to create over 11000 direct
skilled, semiskilled and unskilled jobs
in the country.
The list of the six companies and the
seven investment proposals, totaling to
Rs. 65,000 crores is given below:
The list of the companies and their proposals:
Videocon Industries Ltd
LCD Fab – TFT Flat panel display:G6
type plant, capacity – 60000 sheets/
28
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s Outlook
month = 8-9 million LCDs per year
Roll out year – 2009
Total Investment – Rs. 8000 crore
Subsidy requested – about Rs. 2000
crore
Plant site -Navi Mumbai
Moser Baer PV Technologies I Ltd
Silicon cells, Modules, thin film concentrators
Capacity – 580 MW, 540&282 MW respectively (Total capacity 1.3 GW)
Total investment – 6000 crore
Capital subsidy requested – Rs.2393
crore
Location – Oragadam (New Chennai)
Titan Energy System Ltd.
Solar Cells, solar Grade Semicondustor wafer, SPV modules & Polysilicon
Capacity – 500 MW of cells modules &
wafers & 250 MW for polysilicon
Total project cost – Rs. 5880 crore
Subsidy requested – Rs. 200 crore in
4th year & Rs.296 crore in 7th year
Location – Fab City, Hyderabad (SEZ)
for Phase-I and New location for Ph.II
KSK Energy Ventures Private Limited, Hyderabad
Integrated Solar Panel based on Thin
Film and CulnSe2/CdTe Technology
Capacity: 50MW proposed to be increased to 700 MW over 10 years
Total Investment : Rs. 3211 crore
Capital subsidy requested: Rs. 642
crore
Policy Update
Location: Rajiv Gandhi Nano Tech
Park & Fab City, Maheshwaram Mandal, Near Hyderabad
Signet Solar Inc.
Solar PV & Associated products : Thin
film
Capacity: IGW/year output
Total investment: Rs.9672 crore
Subsidy requested: Rs. 1934.40 crore
in FY 2010 onwards
Location: Sriperembudur, Tamil Nadu
Reliance Industries Ltd.
Solar PV – Modules cells
Polysilicon, Wafers, Cells and Modules
(Solar Photovoltaic)
Capacity : 1 GW
Total Investment : Rs. 11,631 crore
Subsidy requested : Rs. 2,326.20
crore(tentative)
Location: Jamnagar SEZ, Gujarat
Reliance Industries Ltd.
Semiconductor Fab, Assembly, test,
mark and packaging
Capacity: 70,000 wafers per month
(Fab) and 10 million packages per
week (ATMP)
Total Investment: Rs. 18,521 crore
Subsidy requested : Rs. 3,394.56 crore
(tentative)
Location: Navi Mumbai/Hyderabad/
Haryana/Mysore (to be decided based
on the interaction with the respective
State Governemnts)
The guidelines for operation of the
scheme which was announced by the
Department of Information Technology in September 2007 were drawn up
keeping in mind the specific constraints
that challenge viability of the semiconductor industry and other high tech
industries. Such industries are highly
capital intensive and have to deal with
constantly changing technology. It,
therefore, became imperative on the
part of the Government to create a conducive environment for manufacturing
and offer a package of incentives comparable with other countries.
Under the special incentive package
scheme, the Central Government has
to provide incentive of twenty percent
capital expenditure during the first ten
years for the units in SEZs and twenty
five percent of the capital expenditure
in non-SEZ units. Any unit can claim incentives in the form of capital subsidy
or equity participation.
Exhibition cost is business
expense, rules ITAT
Companies can treat expenditure incurred on participating in exhibitions as
business expense and claim tax benefits, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal
has said in a recent decision. Giving its
ruling in a case pertaining to the Indian
subsidiary of Austrian auto component
maker Styler Daimler Puch, ITAT said
expenditure on exhibitions is aimed to
propagate business and hence cannot allowed for claiming tax benefits by
the tax department. “All the expenses
were aimed to propagate the assessee’s business…I accordingly allow the
expenses,” ITAT President Mr. Vimal
Gandhi said. The case pertains to participation of Austrian company’s subsidiary Styler India, in Auto Expo 1998,
on which the company spent about Rs.
15 Lakh.
Digital TV may have higher FDI
cap
The Government may bring in separate guidelines and foreign investment
rules for the cable industry based on
the mode of distribution of signals to
end consumers. With the Government
gearing up to announce the policy for
digital platforms like Headend in the
Sky (HITS) and IPTV will need huge
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to expand. For this reason, they want different FDI rules for these services than
the analogue cable industry.
I-T benefit for software extended
upto March 2010
In a huge relief to the IT industry, software companies have been allowed to
enjoy income tax benefits for one more
year from March 2009 to 31st March
2010.
RBI hikes CRR, Interest Rates
unchanged
The Reserve Bank of India in its annual
policy review increased CRR (cash reserve ratio) by 25 basis points to 8.25%
with effect from May 24, 2008, and kept
interest rates unchanged.
Fixed-line telephony to be
exempted from licence fee
At a function organized by COAI recently, the Telecom Minister Shri A.
Raja has said that the fixed-line telephony will be exempted from licence
fee to encourage service providers, especially those in the private sector, to
go to the rural areas. BSNL will be the
largest beneficiary of this move as it will
save upto Rs.1,200 crore annually. Private operators such as Airtel, Reliance
and Tata have minimum presence in
the landline space. Currently, telecom
operators pay 6-10% of their total revenues, including revenue from landline
and broadband, towards licence fees,
charged as percentage of AGR.
Government plans fresh efforts
for WTO deal
India is to launch fresh efforts to INK a
free trade agreement with Asean bloc
and iron out differences with US to
seal a WTO deal under ongoing Doha
Round. Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath is attending the Asean
Economic Ministers’ conference in Indonesia in order to move forward on
the trade agreement. The Commerce
Minister said it is important for India to
be integrated with the region. India’s
merchandise trade was close to $400
billion in 2007-08 with exports growing
at 23% and imports 27%.
India – Asean FTA faces hurdle
at Indonesia end
The final talks on the proposed Free
Trade Agreement between India and
the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has been
further stretched with Indonesia continuing to raise objections. At the final
stage ministerial –level discussions
held at Nusa Dua in Indonesia recently,
negotiators from India and Indonesia
once again failed to resolve the dispute
over their respective increased market access demands. The talks for the
proposed FTA had begun three years
ago. India-Indonesia bilateral trade in
2006-07 grew 41% to US$6.1 billion.
Indonesia’s exports to India contribute
US$4.1 billion.
MVNO regime could be ushered
in soon
The government is set to usher in
mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), allowing players without telecom
licenses to provide services by buying
bulk airtime from licensees and reselling it to consumers. Regulator Trai has
May-Jun ‘08
29
Policy Update
issued a consultation paper soliciting
the views of various stakeholders on
the subject.
Govt. considering proposal to
scrap license fees for landline
phones
Two months after the access deficit
charge scheme, which compensated
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)
for its loss-making rural telephony operations, was phased out, the Telecom
Commission today discussed a proposal to waive in perpetuity the annual revenue share (license fee) to be paid by
fixed-line service providers in the country. The proposal is aimed at arresting
the decline in wireline services growth
and spur availability of broadband internet access across the country.
Merger norms for telecom
tightened
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued guidelines significantly tightening the noose on mergers among telecom operators within a
circle by imposing a three-year lock-in
period, besides making it mandatory for
them to take prior permission from the
Ministry. It has also made post-merger
rules on retention of spectrum much
more stringent. According to the existing policy, operators do not need prior
permission from DoT or have a lock-in
period for mergers.
CBEC issues instructions for
timely payment of refund claims
to exporters
Government of India has already notified refund of service tax paid on sixteen taxable services, whether or not
input services, use of which could be
attributable to export goods, based on
verifiable methods. Through a separate
circular dated 17th April, 2008, CBEC
has instructed all field formations to ensure timely and expeditious payment of
refund claims to exporters. Accordingly,
any refund claim which is not finalized
within a period of 30 days from the date
of filing is required to be reported by the
Commissioner to the concerned Chief
Commissioner and any refund claim
not finalized within 45 days, for whatsoever reasons, has to be reported
to the CBEC. Field officers have also
30
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s O utlook
been instructed to take special efforts
to dispose of refund claims of small and
medium exporters on priority basis. The
above circular is available on CBEC
website – http/www.cbec.gov.in.
DoT plans limited 3G auction by
2008-end
The Department of Telecom (DOT)
plans to auction third generation (3G)
spectrum in two phases – the first by
2008-end and the next after March
2009. This is because the alternate
network for the defence forces, which
will result in vacation of radio frequencies for 3G, will be ready only by March
2009.
revenue shortfall after the cut in CST
from 3% to 2%, which is likely to come
into effect from 1st May, 2008. This
may result in Central Government providing around Rs.7000 crore to States
in 2008-09. In order to partially offset
the loss due to the CST rate cut, the
Centre will pass on the service tax collections from 33 services to States
Notifications
Notificatuon No. 23/2008 C.E. (NT) dated
23.05.2008
Central Excise (Third Amendment)
Rules, 2008 so as to allow EOU to pay
duty on the goods cleared into the DTA
on monthly basis
Highlights of Annual
Supplement to FTP 2008-08
Notificatuon No. 24/2008 C.E. (NT) dated
23.05.2008
1. DEPB Scheme extended till May
2009.
2. IT hardware brought under special
focus
3. IT exemption for 100% EOUs extended by a year till March 2010
4. Reduced interest rates for rupeehit and small exporters extended by a
year
5. Average export obligation under
EPCG scheme lowered, large exporters can cut commitments
Amends Rule 17 of the Central Excise
Rules, 2002 to prescribe a new modified
return E.R.-2. The Notification specifies
the form of monthly return in respect of
goods manufactured, goods cleared
and receipt of inputs and capital goods.
The notification shall come into force
on the 30th day of June, 2008
EOUs, STPIs get excise,
customs duty benefits
Through notifications issued by CBEC,
the Finance Ministry has permitted
EOUs and STPI units to subcontract
abroad and sell the finished goods directly from there without having to bring
them back to India. This move will help
such units significantly lower transaction costs as earlier semi finished or
semi processed goods sub congtracted
abroad had to be brought back to the
country before exporting them. In the
same notification, the CBEC has also
hiked the customs and excise duty exemptions for spares and components
to 5% of the free on board value of the
articles manufactured for export out of
India by the unit during the preceding
year. This was earlier at a mere 1.5%.
State FMs arrive at CST relief
formula
State governments on 16th April/08 finalised a compensation formula for the
Public Notice No. 16 (RE-2008) /2004-09 dated 13th May, 2008. Issued by DGFT
Scale of Application fee for DEPB and
other Duty Credit Scheme:
Application for Duty Entitlement Passbook (DEPB) and other Duty Credit
Policy Update
Schemes
Two per thousand or part thereof subject to
a minimum of Two Hundred and maximum
of One Lakh and Fifty Thousand. However, for applications filed electronically, the
maximum fee would be Rs Seventy Five
Thousand
Customs Circular No. 6/2008 dated 28 April
2008 Procedure to be adopted for refund of
4% Additional Duty of Customs in pursuance of Notification No.102/2007-Customs
dated 14.9.2007 – Regarding
The Circular provides clarification regarding refund of 4% Additional Duty
of Customs in pursuance of Notification No.102/2007-Customs dated
14.9.2007. Information is given regarding manner of refund and its receipt,
time limit, documents to be enclosed
with refund claim, etc.
Central Excise Notification No. 22/Central Excise (NT) dated 2 May 2008
Some relief to Metallised Plastic Film Manufacturers
The Ministry of Finance has issued Notification No. 22/CE (NT) on 2nd May,
2008 which gives some relief to manufacturers of metallised plastic film, but
still leaves something to be desired.
According to the Notification, where
an assessee has paid duty of excise
on metallised plastic film, falling under
Chapter 39 (referred to as final product),
the CENVAT credit taken or utilized, of
the duty or tax or cess paid on inputs,
capital goods and input services used
in the making of the said final product,
shall not be required to be reversed, irrespective of the fact that the process
of metallization of duty-paid film was
held as not amounting to manufacture
by the Supreme Court in Civil appeal
Nos. 3224-3225 of 1998 with C.A. No.
5716 of 1998, decided on the 12th February, 2004 in the case of M/S Metlex
(I) Pvt. Ltd. Vs Commissioner of Central Excise, New Delhi, subject to following conditions:
(a) The said non-reversal shall be allowed only for the CENVAT credit taken upto 12th February, 2004.
of refund of the excise duty paid by him
on the said final product.
Provided that the CENVAT credit, if
any, taken by the buyer of the said final
product, of the excise duty paid by the
said assessee on the said final product made and cleared upto 12th February, 2004 shall not be required to be
reversed.
Central
Excise
Circular
No.
868/6/2008-CX dated 9 May 2008
Amendments in CENVAT Credit Rules w.e.f.
01.04.2008 - Regarding
In a significant relief to service providers, the Central Board of Excise
and Customs has clarified that exported services on which service tax
has not been paid will not be treated
as exempted services for the purpose
of availing Central Value Added Tax
(Cenvat) credit.
This would imply that such service providers could continue to take input tax
credit even if they do not pay service
tax. “This is a very important clarification that has cleared some doubts but
there are a few more pending issues”.
Tax experts feel the circular will clear
many issues.
The CBEC clarification comes in the
wake of amendments to the Cenvat
Credit Rules in this year’s Budget. Under the amendment, assesses opting
not to maintain separate Cenvat Credit
accounts have two options for payment of the tax. They can pay 10% of
the value of the exempted goods or 8%
of the value of the exempted services.
Alternatively they can pay an amount
equivalent to the Cenvat Credit attributable to inputs and input services used
in manufacture of exempted goods.
Customs Notification No. 64/2008 dated 9
May 2008 : Capital Goods & Spare parts get
relief from Customs & Additional Duty
(b) The said non-reversal shall be allowed only when excise duty has been
paid on removal of the said final product.
The Notification exempts some goods
from customs Duty leviable thereon in
excess of the amount calculated at the
rate of three percent ad-valorem. It also
exempts for the whole of the additional
duty leviable thereon under section 3 of
the said Customs Tariff act, when specifically claimed by the importer.
(c) The said assessee shall not a claim
The exemption which is subject to some
conditions is applicable is
1. Capital goods for pre-production,
production and post production including second hand capital goods.
2. Capital goods in Semi Knocked Down
(SKD) / Completely Knocked Down
(CKD) conditions to be assembled into
capital goods by the importer.
3. Spare parts of goods specified at Serial Nos. 1 and 2 as actually imported
and required for maintenance of capital goods so imported, assembled, or
manufactured.
4. Spare parts for the existing plant and
machinery of the licence or authorization holder.
5. Motor cars, sports utility vehicles / all
purpose vehicles.
Service Tax Circular No. 101/4/2008-ST dated 12 May 2008 : Filing of claim for refund
of Service Tax paid under Notification No.
41/2007-ST
To clear some doubts for filing of claim
for refund of service Tax paid under
Notification No. 41/2007-ST a certificate has been issued by the Ministry of Finance through Circular No.
101/4/2008-ST dated 12th may, 2008.
In cases where a premises or an office
of a merchant exporter is registered
with the department under Service Tax
Law, the merchant exporter can, at his
option, file refund claim with the Jurisdictional Office, he is registered with
a clarification has been issued by the
Ministry of Finance.
CBEC Circular No.341/15/2007-TRU dt. 17th
April, 2008
Instructions for timely payment of refund claims to exporters.
Policy Circular No.1(RE-08)/2004-2009 dt.
11th April, 2008
Clarification regarding Service Tax Refund.
May-Jun ‘08
31
B u s i n es s U p d a t e
Opportunities
& Events
Meetings with an NRI Venture Capitalist to explor e i n v e s tment opportunities in high growth areas
ELECTRONIC INDIA 2008
GLOBALTRONICS 2008
ELCOMP India 2008
TAITRONICS INDIA 2008
India Telecommunications 2008
ELE TRADE 2009/NEPCON WORLD JAPAN
Specific Business Enquiries
Received At ELCINA
ELCINA received the following specific
business enquiries during the past one
month, some of which were passed on to
the concerned Members through E-Mail/
Fortnightly Newsletters for immediate action at their end.
Meetings with an NRI Venture
Capitalist to explore investment
opportunities in high growth areas
Through e-mail circular dated 21st May/08
all ELCINA Members were informed
about the visit to India of an NRI Venture
Capitalist seeking to explore investment
opportunities in high growth areas and to
support manufacturing in India for Indian
as well as overseas markets
32
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s Outlook
Forthcoming Events/ General
Information
ELECTRONIC INDIA 2008
Taipei – June 3-7, 2008
Bangalore International Exhibition
Centre (BIEC), Bangalore – Sept.25, 2008
Electronic India 2008 is being organized by Messe Munchen GmBH,
Munich, at BIEC, Bangalore during
Sept. 2-5, 2008. This is the 9th International exhibition and conference for
electronic components, assemblies,
materials and production technologies. The Exhibitor Profile includes
: Semiconductors, Sensors, Relays,
switches and interconnection tech-
nology, Passive components, Motors/drives, Cables, Assemblies and
subsystems, ED/EDA and test and
measurement technology, Displays,
Power supplies, Packaging, Materials processing, Manufacturing equipment and logistics for PCBs and
other circuit carriers, Technologies in
cable processing, Soldering technology, Manufacturing equipment and
logistics for assemblies, modules
and hybrids, General operation aids
and production subsystems, Production-related services.
For more information, please contact
the organizers
MMI India Pvt.Ltd,
23, Deccan Court,
S.V Road, Bandra (W),
Mumbai. 400 050,
[email protected],
Tel: +91 22 26452101/ 02/ 03, Telefax: +91 22 26516372
Business Update
GLOBALTRONICS 2008
SUNTEC, Singapore
Sept.9-12, 2008
GlobalTRONICS 2008 is
being
organized by Reed
Exhibitions in
SUNTEC, Singapure, during Sept. 912, 2008.
For more information, visit - www.globaltronics.comsg or contact
Ms. Boon Kia Min
Tel: +65 6780 4613
Fax: (65) 65883798
Email: [email protected]
ELCOMP India 2008
4th Annual International Exhibition &
Conference
Pragati Maidan, New Delhi
Sep. 10-12, 2008
After successfully
organising
ELCOMP in 2005,
2006 & 2007, ELCINA and Exhibitions India have announced the 4th
edition of ELCOMP INDIA 2008 to be
held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, during September 10-12, 2008. The theme
of ELCOMP India 2008 is “Showcasing the Electronic Hardware Industry
– From Design to Manufacturing”.
As in the past years, ELCOMP INDIA
2008 will provide a platform to showcase electronic hardware, components,
subsystems as well as capital equipment and machines for the manufacture of electronic hardware and EMS
providers. Over the last three years,
ELCOMP India has established itself as
an effective platform bringing together
domestic and international players. It is
emerging as the best business development forum for the Indian electronic
industry.
Exhibitor Profile in Elcomp India 2008
Electronic Hardware
Electronic Components (ICs, Semiconductors, Connectors, Passive Components – capacitors, resistors etc.)
Raw Materials and accessories
Opto-electronics
Printed Circuit Boards & Machinery
Policy Update
Wires & Cables
EMS/CMS
Power Electronics
Tools, dies & Moulds
SMT and Packaging machinery
Test and assemblies
Electronic Design Tools and systems
Microprocessors
Service providers to electronics industry
ELCOMP India 2008 will also showcase
two new segments, Embedded Design
and Test & Measurement by adding
two focused pavilions viz. Embedded
India and Sensor & Test India. Embedded technologies pervade all segments
including automotive, telecommunications, industrial, consumer electronics,
defence & aerospace and are defining
development of new components. The
Sensor & Test pavilion will focus on a
market which is witnessing rapid technological developments. The usage of
modern equipments and machines by
the industry has increased the demand
for sensors and testing equipments in
the country. The growing market for
testing & measuring equipments is expected to attract major global players in
the coming years.
ELCINA requests Members’ full support
and active participation in ELCOMP INDIA 2008. For more details and booking space, please visit www.elcompindia.com or the ELCINA website www.
elcina.com or contact the ELCINA Secretariat or Exhibitions India office.
TAITRONICS INDIA 2008
Chennai Trade Center,
Chennai, Tamilnadu
Sept. 11-13, 2008
Taitronics India 2008 is being held
during Sept. 11-13, 2008 at Chennai
Trade Center (CTC) Complex, Hall 3,
Nandambakkam, Chennai 600 089
(Tamilnadu). This event is being organised by TWTC (Taipei World Trade
Center) and TEEMA (Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association), with the support of Govt of
Tamilnadu and CII. The exhibition will
include Consumer Electronics, Elec-
tric Appliance & Machinery, Electronic
Components, Auto Parts & Accessories, Hand Tools, Wireless/Broadband,
Service Industry etc.
For more information, please visit www.
taitronics.org/india/index.shtml,www.
taipeitradeshows.com.tw/india2008/
overview/general.shtml
India Telecommunications 2008
New Delhi, Sept.
23-25Jan. 28-30, 2009
The 14th International Summit on
India Telecommunications 2008 will
be held during 23-25 September 2008
in New Delhi. The event is being organized by Beacon Events.
For more details please contact
Beacon Events Limited
20/F, Siu On Centre,
188 Lockhart Road, Wanchai,
Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2531 6100,
Fax: +852 2586 1999,
website: www.BeaconEvents.com and
www.India-Telecoms.com.
ELE TRADE 2009/ NEPCON
WORLD JAPAN
Tokyo Big Sight, Japan, Jan. 28-30,
2009
This Event, which is the
10th International Electronic Components Trade
Show, is a powerful exhibition for all kinds of electronic components and devices,
being organised by Reed Exhibitions
in Japan during Jan.28-30, 2009. According to the organisers, 60,000 visitors including concurrent held shows
like Int’l Automotive Electronics Technology Expog, gather in this event.
For more information and participation,
please contact
ELE TRADE 2009 Show Management
Reed Exhibitions Japan Ltd,
Tokyo,
Tel : +81-3-33498502,
Fax : +81-3-33494900,
e-mail: [email protected],
Website: www.eletrade.jp
May-Jun ‘08
33
DIRECTORY 2008
Subscribe Now!!
A Compendium of
Indian Electronic Hardware Industry
ELCINA Directory of Indian Electronics Industry includes the
updates on Indian Electronics Industry and a host of
additional improved features covering business environment,
statistical industry scan, company databases plus various
projections. This handy compendium with its easy-to-read
format attracts the attention of a growing number of users in
India and abroad.
Apart from the electronics industry, users of this Directory
range fro service providers to the industry to banks &
financial institutions, Consultancy organisations as well as
industry promotion bodies across the world. Being the most
comprehensive guide to the Indian
electronics industry, the Directory is extensively used by
electronics/IT Associations/Institutes and trade across the
world.
The Directory captures the pulse of Indian electronics industry
and also serves to generate enquiries that translate into
business relationships.
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of Indian Electronics Industry for the year 2008.
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34
Complete range of Electronics and IT products
Database of major Indian Electronics and IT
hardware
manufacturing companies
Database of Indian electronic component
manufacturers
along with brief company profile
Distributors of electronic components in India
Statistical trends in Indian IT & electronic
equipment,
component and material industry
Industry Profile Capsule as well as updates on
government
policies, quality and standards
Key contacts covering all relevant business related
agencies and institutions in India and abroad
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s O utlook
For
Rs. 600 + 50 courier charges
USD 60 inclusive of handling charges
+ 50 courier charges
in favour of ELCINA Electronic Industries Association
of India, payable at New Delhi
Mail this form along with payment to
VK Vadhwa
ELCINA House
422, Okhla Industrial Estate Phase III,
New Delhi 110 020
Photocopy of this form is also accepted.
ELC I N A A c t i v i t y U p d a t e
ELCINA Events
& Activities
Entries invited for ELCINA-D&B Awards for 2007-0 8
Next meeting of ELCINA’s Executive Committee s c h e d u l e d
in Mumbai on 27th June, 2008.
Launch of ELCINA CENTRE FOR KNOWLEDGE MA N A G EME NT (ELCINA-CKM) And Workshop on “Statistic a l P r o c e s s
Control - An Aid to Control Costs and Enhance Qu a l i t y ”
Technical “Workshop on Test & Measurement in E l e c t r o n i c
Manufacturing” at Kanchipuram on 13th June, 200 8
Participation in India Pavillion at Taitronics Taipe i 2 0 0 8
And/Or Business Delegation to the Show (Brief de t a i l s g i v e n
below).
Introductory Workshop for ELCINA-CBI Export Co a c h i n g
Programme at ELCINA House, New Delhi, on 5th A u g u s t ,
2008 (Brief details given below).
New ELCINA Directory of Indian Electronics Indus t r y f o r
2008-09 (Brief details given below).
Entries invited for ELCINA-D&B
Awards for 2007-08
Through circulars dated 5th June, 2008,
entries have been invited for “ELCINA
– DUN & BRADSTREET AWARDS
FOR EXCELLENCE IN ELECTRONICS HARDWARE MANUFACTURING
& SERVICES” for 2007-08.
ELCINA has been presenting Awards
for Excellence to Electronic Hardware/
IT Manufacturers & Support (Design,
Testing, Technology) industries since
last three decades (1976). The objective is to recognize and encourage the
best players in this important sector
and provide a benchmark for the rest
of us.
We invite entries for the Awards from
manufacturers of Electronic/IT Hardware Products & Support Services for
outstanding achievements in :
Research & Development
Exports
Quality
Envir onment Management
Business Excellence
All electronics/IT hardware companies
with manufacturing base / operations
in India are welcome to apply for the
Awards. The winners of all ELCINA
Awards for the past years can be seen
in the ELCINA website - www.elcina.
com. The Scheme of Awards is also
available on the website.
For each entry, Nomination Form as
well as details requested as per Scheme
of Awards have to be furnished. If a
company is applying for more than one
award, separate applications have to
be made which have to be neatly bound
with suitable cover, plastic folder, etc.
Entries for each Award should be submitted in quadruplicate (four copies)
separately for being handed over to the
Award Committee which consists of an
independent panel comprising experts
from technical institutions, government
and the industry.
In respect of Awards for “Quality”, “Environment Management” and “BusiMay-Jun ‘08
35
ELC I N A A c t i v i t y U p d a t e
ELCINA Activity Update
ness Excellence”, there could be a requirement for visits to the short-listed
companies as per details provided in
the Scheme of Awards.
Each Award category normally consists of only one prize – one for Large
Scale and the second for Small & Medium Enterprises. However, the jury
may consider a 2nd prize for deserving
companies as a special recognition. A
company, which has received the first
prize last year in any one of the categories, would not be eligible to apply
for the same category of Awards for
this year.
It is mandatory for the applicant companies to furnish Nomination Form along
with supporting documents. Entries
received without the Nomination Form
& Entry Fee will be liable for disqualification. Last date for receipt of entries
extended to – 15th July, 2008.
For the details and the Scheme of
Awards, please
visit ELCINA website: www.elcina.com
or contact ELCINA office at Delhi
E-Mails: [email protected]/
[email protected]
Tel : 011-26924597/8053, 41615985
Fax : 011-26923440
Electronic
Circulars
Launch of ELCINA CENTRE FOR
KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
(ELCINA-CKM) and Workshop
on “Statistical Process Control
- An Aid to Control Costs and
Enhance Quality” at Delhi on
21st June, 2008
The ELCINA Centre for Knowledge
Management (CKM) seeks to address
these concerns of the industry and facilitate easy implementation of systems
and standards in a cost-effective way.
Through various e-mail circulars, all
Members have been invited to the
Launch of ELCINA Centre for Knowledge Management (ELCINA-CKM)
which is a new initiative of ELCINA
being organised with a Workshop on
“Statistical Process Control - An Aid to
Control Costs and Enhance Quality”
on 21st June, 2008 at ELCINA House,
New Delhi.
a) Provide Training to all levels of Supervisory Staff and Managers responsible for manufacturing activity
Self-empowerment has been the cornerstone of ELCINA’s activities for enhancing competitiveness of industry.
To achieve this end, ELCINA has been
conducting seminars, workshops and
training programs on contemporary
management systems and emerging
technologies aimed at empowering
the electronics industry and enhancing their competitiveness. With the
proliferation of quality systems & standards and the multiplicity of legislative
requirements, implementation has become a complex and difficult exercise.
The aims and objectives of the ELCINA-CKM:
b) Develop skills for manufacturing
competitiveness through better quality
& technology and lower cost
Quality. Consistent quality, low defects (PPM Level), high performance,
durable & reliable products;
Training programmes include SPC,
7QC Tools, Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA) and Advanced Product
Quality Planning (APQP) and more.
Cost Competitiveness.
Training Programmes include Six Sigma, Productivity Improvement & Cost
Control, Lean Manufacturing.
Technology. Ability to develop new
Products and Improved Processes;
Training Programme includes Energy
Efficiency, Clean & Green technolo-
During the last one month, electronic circulars and messages sent out include:
Subject
Date of sending
email
1
Suggestions for list of products to be included in Focus
Product Scheme
April 29, 2008
2
Fortnightly Newsletters
April 30, May 15
and May 31, 2008
3
ELCINA Workshop on Test & Measurement in Electronic
Manu8facturing on 13th June, 2008
May 28, 2008,
June 02, 06
4
ELCINA-CBI Export Coaching Programme
3rd June, 2008
5
Launch of ECINA CKM and Workshop on Statistical Process Control at Delhi on 21st June, 2008
4th June, 2008
6
Entries invited for ELCINA-D&B Awards for 2007-08
June 06, 20088
7
Notice & Agenda for next EC Meeting in Mumbai
June 07, 2008
Suggestions on other topics are welcome.
36
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s O utlook
ELC I N A A c t i v i t y U p d a t e
gies, RoHS, Eco-Design, Management
System Analysis (Kaizen, Kanban…).
c) Provide Training to Industry on Management System Standards Such as
ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001,
ISO 20000 etc. for Preparation of Documents, implementation and take up
work related to Compliance Verification
of EICC (Electronic Industry Code of
Conduct).
d) Take Up On-site / In-House Training
for Members requiring programs for organisation development and in Industry
clusters where a small group of companies may need such training facility
Participation Fee
i) ELCINA Members: Rs 1000/- per
delegate, Rs. 800/- each additional delegate
ii) Non Members: Rs 1200/- per delegate
Full details of the SPC Workshop and
the Programme Contents, have already been circulated to all the members, along with Response Form which
has to be filled in and returned to ELCINA along with participation fee by 18th
June, 2008.
Technical Workshop on “Test
& Measurement in Electronic
Manufacturing” at Kanchipuram
on 13th June, 2008
ELCINA organized a Technical Workshop on Test & Measurement in Electronic Manufacturing on 13th June,
2008, at “Pallava Court”, Hotel GRT
Regency, 487, Gandhi Road, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. This programme
was conducted with support from National Instruments (NI) and had useful
presentations by experts from NI as
well as the industry on the core areas:
Reducing test cycle time and costs;
and Improving productivity.
Participation in India Pavillion
at Taitronics Taipei 2008 And/
Or Business Delegation to the
Show
Through email circular dated 29th
May/08, all members have been informed of the offer received from the
ELCINA Activity Update
Taiwan External Trade Development
Council regarding participation in their
forthcoming show Taitronics Autumn
2008, which will be held during October
7-11 at Taipei, Taiwan.
TAITRA has offered India to be a partner in this Show requesting ELCINA to
set up an “India Pavilion”. Members,
participating under the umbrella of India Pavilion will be entitled to get a special discount of 20% on listed price.
ELCINA is also planning a Business
Delegation to visit this Show for which
we have been invited by TAITRA and
TEEMA.
Introducy Workshop TO
ELCINA-CBI Export Coaching
Programme at ELCINA House,
New Delhi, 5th Aug/08
Through e-mail circular dated 3rd
June, 2008 and subsequent communications, ELCINA has announced
commencement of Export Coaching
Program in partnership with CBI, The
Netherlands. This program is specifically designed for companies looking
to harness the EU market. Though
there is a huge potential for exports of
electronic components, parts and assemblies to the European Union from
developing countries, it is not a simple
task as exporters have to understand
and overcome a variety of tariff and/or
non-tariff barriers. The need of the hour
is to get trained to explore this opportunity. ELCINA, utilizing its long-term
relationship with CBI, has brought this
opportunity for its Members.
An introductory workshop is scheduled
on 5th August, 2008 in ELCINA House,
New Delhi, where experts from CBI
will interact with the representatives
of the companies interested to join the
program. The workshop is free for Associate and Full Members of ELCINA.
Members are invited to take part in the
workshop mentioned above to learn
more about the project. Please confirm your participation by return email.
More details can be seen at www.cbi.
eu/ecs.
through the documents carefully to assess their eligibility to participate and
let us know their interest to join this
program. A maximum of 10-15 companies will be selected for this program
after discussions with the CBI experts
who will assess the potential of the applicants to successfully participate in
the program. Application form for this is
available with ELCINA and will be sent
on request. The form is also downloadable from their website.
The Workshop is being organised on
5th August to ensure that interested
companies understand the Program
and do not have any problems in applying. The decision of the CBI consultants
who will select the companies will be
final. Companies which participated in
the earlier ELCINA-CBI Export Promotion Program (EPP) of 2003, are not be
eligible for applying for this program.
New ELCINA Directory of Indian
Electronics Industry for 2008
The new edition (21st) of ‘ELCINA Directory of Indian Electronics Industry
2008’ was released along with software
version (CD) during the ELCINA-WEBEL Seminar in Kolkata on 8th Feb/08.
Like the past editions, the new Directory includes the usual updates and a
host of additional improved features
covering business environment, statistical industry scan, company databases plus various projections. This handy
compendium with its easy-to-read format continues to attract the attention of
a growing number of users (within India
and abroad).
While one complimentary copy had
been sent to all ELCINA members, additional copies can be obtained from
ELCINA Office in Delhi on payment of
Rs.600/- + Rs.50/- (towards packing &
forwarding through courier). Payment
throuch cash or Draft/Cheque favouring ‘ELCINA Electronic Industries Association of India’ payable in Delhi. For
more details, contact Mr. V.K. Vadhwa
in ELCINA ([email protected])
Along with the above mentioned mail,
We have circulated, as attachments,
the Project Document and Acquisition Letter for perusal of constituents.
Members have been advised to go
May-Jun ‘08
37
Member’s Column
PCT-1000
P rogrammable Preheater
OK International, leading
manufacturer of production
assembly equipment for over 60
years has launched its new PCT1000 Programmable Preheater,
deliver more heat to difficult boards
while maintaining very high levels
of thermal control and lower
operating temperatures. Ideal for
high thermal demand applications
such as lead-free, multi-layer
boards and large ground planes,
the PCT-1000 improves process
efficiency and control.
Adds heat capacity with highly controlled thermal output and enables lower process temperatures.
Increases through-put and reliability of soldering, desoldering and
SMD rework processes.
Four-zone programmable settings for time and temperature to create optimum thermal profiles for varying application demands.
Storage for up to fifty users defined profiles for quick, easy set-up.
User selectable control of heating at source (internal) or at target
(external).
Controlled cool-down eliminates thermal shock to PCB and components.
System safety feature automatically shuts off heating when fan is
stopped.
High efficiency vortex heater design maximizes ramp to temperature for increased productivity.
MEL SYSTEMS AND SERVICES LTD
173, Developed plots Estate, Perungudi, Chennai 600 096
Ph: 044-2496 1903/904
38
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s Outlook
Pre s s R e l e a s e
Mo d u l e s w i t h p r e ap p l i e d t h e r m a l p a s t e
lay e r
The service Pre-applied Thermal paste is currentl y a v a i lable for MiniSKiiP modules. The extension of this s e r v i c e
to additional modules is in progress.
Modules with pre-applied thermal
paste layer simplify assembly
the power electronic module, decreasing
module durability and ultimately lifetime.
ristor modules, enjoying a 34% share of
the worldwide market.
Improved production processes
and cost-saving
Modules with pre-applied thermal paste
layers are transported in purpose-developed, patent-protected blister packaging
that guarantees contact-free transportation. Power modules can be stored for
up to 18 months in this type of packaging.
Products:
Nuremberg, 23 April 2008 - Semikron offers its customers the option of ordering
power modules with pre-applied thermal
paste - a unique service that simplifies
the customer’s assembly processes
considerably, as the customer no longer
needs to include this step in his production process. This ultimately saves the
customer time and money. Furthermore,
production staff do not come into contact
with thermal paste, and thermal paste
cannot accidentally be carried over into
other areas of production. At Semikron,
the homogonous thermal paste layers
have the optimum thickness for the given module specifications, meaning there
is less chance of DCB breakage.
The thermal paste is applied in an automatic screen printing process. “The
application process is a high-precision
process, guaranteeing a degree of precision of +/-10µm for module-specific
thermal paste layers. Process control is
done using Six Sigma QM methods and
boasts a process capability of 1.33,” explains
Dr. Michaela Strube, Service Engineering Manager at Semikron. The optimum
thickness of thermal paste layers means
that development engineers can fully exploit module capabilities in terms of efficiency. Too much thermal paste would
mean poorer thermal resistance, while
too little would lead to thermal stress in
40
E L C I N A E l e c t r o n i c s Outlook
Thermal paste application does not belong in industrial converter manufacture.
The concentration of this production
step at Semikron allows for large-scale
thermal paste application in controlled
printing processes, guaranteeing high
quality at an affordable price.
The service Pre-applied Thermal paste
is currently available for MiniSKiiP modules. The extension of this service to additional modules is in progress.
For further information, check out Services at www.semikron.com.
Photo: Packaged MiniSKiiPs with thermal paste
Semikron’s product range consists of
21,000 different power semiconductors,
including chips, discrete diodes/thyristors, power modules (IGBT / MOSFET
/ diode / thyristor), driver and protection
components and integrated subsystems.
Applications:
“Semikron inside” has become a trade
mark for industrial applications such as
electric drives, wind power generators,
solar power, electric vehicles, welding
machines, lifts, power supplies, conveyor belts and trams. As a significant innovator in the power electronics sector,
many of Semikron’s progressive developments have been accepted as industrial standards.
For more information, visit
www.semikron.com.
Press contact:Jayaraja .R
About SEMIKRON:
Semikron Electronics P Ltd.
Founded in 1951, German-based Semikron is a family enterprise that employs
3000 people worldwide. Semikron comprises of a global network of 35 companies that guarantees fast and competent
on-site customer care. According to a
study carried out by IMS, a leading Market Research Institute, Semikron is the
market leader in the field of diode/thy-
Advertising & Publicity
Tel: +91 22 27628602 / 00 / 09
Fax: +91 22 27616817
jayaraja@semikro n.co.in