Lip-Bu Tan bullish on Indian chip industry

BANGALORE, India – A semiconductor ecosystem is slowly emerging in India as the various pieces of the necessary infrastructure fall into place, according to Lip-Bu Tan, chairman and CEO of Cadence Design Systems.

Tan, who is also a board member at Cosmic Circuits, a semiconductor IP company based here, said recent discussions with Cosmic and other Indian and multinational semiconductor companies left him with the impression that chip industry momentum is growing. He cited recent national efforts to establish an electronics manufacturing policy as a step in the right direction.

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Still, government efforts to launch an electronics manufacturing sector, including tax and other subsidies for companies seeking to establish operations here, have been slowed by bureaucratic rivalries and lack of coordination.

Tan noted that China has long considered semiconductors to be a strategic industry, and urged the Indian government to act accordingly on its manufacturing proposals.

Tan was upbeat about the global electronics industry’s prospects despite Europe’s budget and monetary problems and the slowing of the Chinese economy. Tan and other industry executives remained concerned about the tepid economic recovery in the U.S. Many predict industry consolidation as mergers and acquisitions increase.

These and other factors will make it that much harder for India to build up its semiconductor ecosystem despite a steady flow of application drivers like mobile and cloud services.