Karnataka will emerge as ESDM hub: Siddaramaiah

Inviting investors, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday pitched for turning the State into a hub for electronics manufacturing, following its success in the field of information technology (IT).

“I want Karnataka to be home to the most vibrant ESDM (electronic system design and manufacturing) ecosystem in the world, catering to the demands of domestic and global markets,” Siddaramiah said at the inaugural meet of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) Vision Summit here.

The Vision Summit 2015 is IESA’s annual industry leadership conclave, and this year’s version has as its theme, ‘Make in India: Vision to Reality’, with hopes of generating ideas to transform the flagship programme.

The summit also hopes to accelerate investment promotions, international alliances, startup ecosystems and policy implementation to strengthen India’s contributions in design-led electronics manufacturing.

Siddaramaiah said that Karnataka is at the forefront when it comes to supporting the ESDM industry.

“With over 85 chip design firms, we are leaders in chip designing and R&D. We were among the first to envisage an exclusive ESDM policy, K-ESDM, which aims to focus on and promote the ESDM industry in Karnataka. The policy aims to capture 10 per cent of the ESDM market in India over the next six years,” he told the summit.

The Centre expects demand for electronic products in the country to reach $400 billion by 2020.

The domestic ESDM market is expected to reach $94.2 billion in 2015 from $68.3 billion in 2012.

Production lags

Domestic ESDM production and services, however, lag far behind demand, with revenues from domestic production estimated at $29.8 billion in 2012 and is forecast to reach $42.4 billion in 2015, as per a study by the IESA with Ernst and Young.
The event was also attended by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who emphasised on moving away from low value-add manufacturing to high value-add manufacturing, and on the importance of IP (intellectual property) creation.
The two leaders pointed out that Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are ready to play their role to aid this transformation.