This round table discussion followed from a PIC Paper authored by Mr. Manoj Soman , Chip Designer, Technology Advisor and Teacher. The Panellists were Dr. Ganesh Natarajan (Chairman, 5F World), Mr. Amit Paranjape (Co-Founder and Director, Punetech Software Pvt. Ltd.), Mr Sanjay Kanvinde (Co-Founder Lavni Ventures), Mr. Parag Naik (Co-Founder and CEO, Saankhya Labs) and Mr. Kiran Deshpande (Board Advisor, IITBAA Board Member and TiE, Pune Charter Member). Cmdr. Anand Khandekar (Chairman, CXO, Defence, IT and Member of PIC), chaired the session.
Mr. Soman presented a brief overview of the paper “Semiconductor Ecosystem for India: Need for a Multi-Pronged Strategy”. He noted that India is dependent on imports for chips and components of digital and electrical appliances. Therefore, it is imperative for the economy and national security purposes that India adopt a multi-pronged approach to building and developing a semiconductor ecosystem domestically, rather than focusing purely on fab. Cmdr. Khandekar then opened the floor for the panellists to engage in discussion on the main points of the paper, and its recommendations.
