Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & IT Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar today said that post-Covid as electronics global value chains are being re-shaped, India is becoming more and more relevant not just in terms of designing but also for manufacturing cutting-edge technology and next generation products and devices. He was addressing the Deep Tech Summit – Transformation Through Indigenous Innovation, organized by MeitY-NASSCOM Centre of Excellence (CoE) – IoT & AI in Bengaluru today.
He said, “Up to 2014, the IT/ITes sector mostly represented India’s digital economy. After Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s government took over, the opportunities in the digital economy space have rapidly expanded and cover areas such as internet consumer tech, AI, data plus economy, electronics, space, automobiles, and space. Segments of the economy that were slightly digitized are now racing forward with each building a future on the intersection of digitization and Deep Tech.” Under PM Narendra Modi ji’s government, Deep Tech, Electronics, and Semiconductor sectors and designing and manufacturing of next-gen products and devices are going to be significant focus areas for our digital economy, startups, and young Indians,” he added.
Highlighting the skilling efforts of the Government and the allocation of Rs 8,000 crore for it in the Union Budget, the Minister said, “The talent inputs that are required to be an enabler for the expansion of the digital economy have been put in place. In Karnataka alone, 18- 20 lakh youth will be skilled for both blue-collar as well high tech, industry-relevant and future-ready jobs over the next three years.”
The Minister also added that the Indian digital economy is no longer limited to certain centers of innovation. He said, “Innovation and talent are longer restricted to developed centers like Gurugram or Bengaluru but come from new and smaller cities.” Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar also spoke about the new arenas in that Karnataka can become a technology hub and referred to the 300-acre plant being put up by one of the Apple Inc suppliers, Foxconn, just outside Bengaluru in that context. He mentioned that it shall open new opportunities for the youth and catalyze the electronics manufacturing and Deep Tech ecosystem.
Before the Minister’s address, several startups showcased innovations, especially in healthcare, and spoke highly of the cooperation they were getting from the governments both at the Centre and in Karnataka. Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar appreciated the efforts of MeiTY NASSCOM Centre of Excellence in IoT/AI in Bengaluru for playing a critical role in Catalysing Deep Tech ecosystem in Bengaluru and Karnataka.
The other attendees included Ms. Kalavati, SVP, Head of Software-as-a-Service solutions & Software Center of Excellence, and Shri Jitendra Chaddah, VP, India Country Head for Global Foundries who termed India’s semiconductor policy as “the best policy rolled out by respective nations,” and asked Deep Tech Startups to “Stay there – there are going to be a lot of opportunities.”
Recently, the Ministry of Electronics and IT signed a pact with Siemens Healthineers to develop new, improved, and innovative technologies for advancing healthcare and diagnostic access in India.
