The Hard Way Forward

India has been focused on software, but there are large opportunities to be seized in hardware. A primer, and some busting of myths.

- Rajeev Srinivasan

IT’S BEEN AN axiom for some time that India has a core competence in software, which, on the face of it, is a great thing, considering that “software is eating the world”, according to Marc Andreessen, founder of web browser Netscape, and now venture capitalist. But things on the ground look a little dicey. The IT services industry is in a downturn, the India Stack and Aadhaar initiatives for Digital India are being attacked by privacy advocates. Meanwhile, China is on the verge of overtaking the US in artificial intelligence (AI), and has overtaken it in the use of digital money, and India is way behind in robotics/drones/internet of things (IoT), and especially in semiconductors.

There are several good reasons for putting some focus on electronics, particularly on the ESDM (electronic system design and manufacturing) industry. One is that, as I have said in these pages before, there is the fear that India will have a giant trade deficit of $400 billion in electronics as we become one of the largest consumers of electronic gadgets such as smartphones. Another is that these are strategic technologies where we simply cannot afford to be dependent on the tender mercies of uncertain suppliers like China — imagine if we have to depend on them for sensitive defence gear, especially in the wake of Doklam.