Indian semiconductor industry to touch $15 bln by 2015: Maran

New Delhi, Dec 8 (UNI) The Indian semiconductor industry will touch 15 billion dollars by 2015, Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology Dayanidhi Maran said today while inaugurating the low-cost set-top box chip STi5107.

''Such digital set-top box chips with high level of integration of hardware and software are required to nurture the latest broadcast medium like CAS, DTH and IPTV,'' Mr Maran said adding that 11.8 million houses would have DTH services by 2010.

Calling the semiconductor industry as the oil of the information age, Mr Maran said the world is eyeing on India as 18 out of the 25 chip manufacturing companies have successfully set up their design centres in the country.

European chipmaker ST Microelectronics (STM) unveiled the chip STi5107 entirely designed in the country.

The Minister highlighted the importance of electronics industry in the economic development, saying that this industry will reach 1,500 billion dollars mark by 2010, being fuelled by electronics proliferation and acceleration of consumerism.

However, he assured that the government will provide the viable infrastructure and investor-friendly policies for giving a fillip to the entire semiconductor ecosystem, including the setting up of a fab in India.

On being asked whether the company has any plans to set up a manufacturing centre in the country, STM Chief Operating Officer Alain Dutheil refuted the possibility.

''The company is not going to set up any manufacturing centre across the world in the next five years.'' Presently, STM has two design centres in the country -- one in high-tech city Bangalore and the other one in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

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