| Manufacturing sector needs to grow to provide large scale employment opportunities – P.Chidambaram |
Source:Press Information Bureau, Government of India, December 21 2007 |
| http://pib.nic.in/release |
The Finance Minister, Shri P Chidambaram has stressed the need for strengthening the
manufacturing sector to provide large scale employment opportunities for the ever increasing
youth population. Speaking at a function in Mumbai to mark the 70th Anniversary of India’s
leading engineering company, Larsen & Toubro, the Finance Minister observed, that India is set
to become the only large country where working population will be higher than the dependent
population. He said that since, only 5 per cent of the youth will be vocationally skilled, the
services sector, which accounts for 55% of our GDP will not able to absorb them in large
numbers. To ensure employment opportunities for the youth, Shri Chidambaram said, the
Manufacturing sector, which now accounts for 28 per cent of GDP, will have to grow and
expand its activities on a big scale. He said, professionally managed, technology driven
companies like L&T, which he placed in a newly coined ‘national sector’, are needed in more
numbers. |
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| Indians key to next billion mobile users: Study |
| Source:Business Standard, December 21 2007 |
| http://www.ibef.org |
Although only about one in 20 of the world's first two billion mobile subscribers live in India, as
many as one in every four of the next billion subscribers will be an Indian, a report by the
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) said.
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| NXP Semiconductors Acquires GloNav For GPS Expertise |
| Source:W. David Gardner, InformationWeek, December 21 2007 |
| http://www.informationweek.com |
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The rush to develop and improve GPS capability by semiconductor companies continued Friday
as NXP Semiconductors announced that it will acquire fabless semiconductor company GloNav
for as much as $110 million.
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| Taiwan's foundry industry has 70% global market share |
| Source:Radio Taiwan International, December 21 2007 |
| http://english.rti.org.tw |
Taiwan's foundry industry is number one in the world, taking up 70% of the global market share.
The Cabinet's Council for Economic Planning and Development made the announcement on
Thursday. |
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| Rupee is BRIC's second fastest growing currency |
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Source:livemint.com, December 23 2007 |
| http://www.ibef.org |
The rupee has become the second most appreciating currency against the dollar among BRIC
currencies, with a surge of 11% in 2007, says an analysis.
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| Climbing the innovation ladder |
| Source:livemint.com, December 24 2007 |
| http://www.ibef.org |
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Over the past decade, India's young graduates have drawn global attention to the country.
Banks, software companies, generic drug makers and investment bankers have outsourced tasks
ranging from answering customer calls to writing research reports and mining data for drug
development to this pool of knowledge workers. |
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| Ford to make India engine hub, fine-tuning Chennai project |
| Source:livemint.com, Decmber 24 2007 |
| http://www.ibef.org |
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Auto manufacturer Ford Motor Co. is betting big on its Indian operations and plans to make it a
major hub for supplying petrol and diesel engines to its operations in the entire Asia-Pacific
region, as well as markets in Europe, according to a top official at the Indian operations. |
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| Indian chip design firms acquiring for scale, R&D |
| Source:livemint.com, December 24 2007 |
| http://www.ibef.org |
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Indian information technology companies, such as Wipro Ltd, Sasken Communication
Technologies Ltd and MindTree Consulting Ltd, which offer chip-design services, are in an
acquisitive mode to consolidate their position in the global market. |
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| India set to become hub for assembly test mark pack facilities |
| Source:Sreekala G,The Economic Times, December 25 2007 |
| http://economictimes.indiatimes.com |
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India is on course to become the hub of assembly-test-mark-pack (ATMP) facilities. While
existing players are set to invest huge sums to expand their operations, new players are also
showing interest in setting up ATMP units. ATMP facilities led the development of
semiconductor ecosystem in countries like Taiwan and it could trigger the same effects in India
as well. |
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| Market research: Holiday CE sales declined this year |
| Source:Antone Gonsalves, InformationWeek, December 26 2007 |
| http://www.eetindia.co.in |
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Holiday sales of consumer electronic devices in the United States fell this year compared to
last year, according to the NPD Group Inc. The sales of portable music players declined during
the first three weeks of the holiday shopping season, as manufacturers attracted fewer firsttime
buyers, a market research firm said Wednesday. |
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| Telecom companies add 8.3 million mobile users in November |
| Source:The Economic Times, December 26 2007 |
| http://www.ibef.org |
India added a record 8.3 million wireless users in November, taking the total subscriber base to
225.5 million, telecom regulator TRAI said. In October, new wireless subscribers numbered 8.05
million. |
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| SEZs in rapid implementation mode: KPMG |
| Source:The Hindu Business Line, Decmber 26 2007 |
| http://www.ibef.org |
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Most of the technology sector special economic zones (SEZs) have gone into implementation
mode and are set to serve as growth engines in the country. |
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| Indian chip designers adding skills, engineers |
| Source:K.C. Krishnadas, EETimes, December 26 2007 |
| http://www.eetimes.com |
Top Indian chip designers are now tackling 45-nm designs while adding new capabilities to
extend their design services and prepare for an expected surge in business. |
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| Bahrain bank takes 75% stake in Open-Silicon |
| Source:Dylan McGrath, EE Times, December 27 2007 |
| http://www.eetasia.com |
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Bahrain's Unicorn Investment Bank B.S.C. has acquired a 75-percent stake in Open-Silicon Inc.,
a fabless ASIC house, for $190 million, according to Reuters. |
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| Hardware meet in Feb |
| Source:The Telegraph, December 27 2007 |
| http://www.telegraphindia.com |
Webel and the Bengal IT department will host an interactive breakfast session with
representatives of global semiconductor firms at a summit in Bangalore in February.
Vision Summit 2008, a flagship event of the Indian Semiconductor Association (ISA), will be held
on February 18 and 19. |
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| Circa 2007: Semiconductor ‘chips’ into India’s hardware dream |
| Source:Moumita Bakshi Chatterjee, The Hindu Business Line, December 27 2007 |
| http://www.thehindubusinessline.com |
When the Indian IT industry toasts its highs of 2007, semiconductor manufacturing will most
certainly be cheered as the new ‘chip’ on the block.
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Dear readers,
May the spirit of Christmas
Bring you joy
That lasts all through the New Year
Have a Wonderful Christmas…
…
and a Magical New Year! |
