ISA to lobby for chip fab

With an objective to make India a "fab" destination, the Ind-ian
Semi-conductor Associat-ion (ISA) plans to have a focus group to make a
concer-ted effort to achieve this goal. The focus group will consist of CEOs and
top executives from chip firms in India.

Rajendra Kumar Khare, MD ISA Chairman and Broadcom India opined, "It is
important to think at the big picture level. We need to strategize on how to
enable policy, government support, infrastructure and investment."

To initiate the process, ISA would shortly commission a report on the
possibility of having fabs in India. The report would be ready by the year-end.
"We are not touting a fab as a one-time proposition but as a way to promote
its strategic long term benefits. Though we have good semiconductor design
companies in India, we need a highway which in this case is having fabs in the
overall technology ecosystem," said Khare. He contended that only then
would India move to the next level.

The industry body also plans to have talks with the Ministry of IT and
Communications. The 70-membered ISA has also initiated a program called Patent
fabric with leading educational institutions to help convert innovative ideas
from Universities into patents.

Priya Padmanabhan

Bangalore (CyberMedia News)