The Electronics Sector Skill Council of India aims to bridge the skill gap between industry and academia. It looks at fulfilling the manpower requirements for electronic system design and manufacturing throughout the country.
Its main focus is on PCB design, consumer electronics, industrial automation, and electronic manufacturing services. Though the council also works with e-mobility, drones, electric vehicles, and solar, as well as communication and broadcasting
“There is an issue of skill gap that needs to be addressed by taking projects beyond the metros and the Tier 1/ Tier 2 cities to the rural areas as well. In line with Prime Minister Modi’s vision, we aim to make India the skill capital of the world”, says Dr. Abhilasha Gaur, COO, the Electronics Sector Skill Council of India, in an interview
Going forward, what do you think would be the role of location technology and its convergence with AI, IoT, and hyper-fast connectivity in driving the future of microelectronics and its integration across sectors?
We are working on a national policy for Artificial Intelligence, as part of a committee formulated by the Ministries of Skill Development and Electronics. We aim to make AI accessible and easy to use for everyone, whether a 4-year-old kid or an 80-year-old elderly.
Advanced technologies are fast becoming a crucial part of our daily lives, especially things like geo-tagging and the use of spatial location. Off late, the government has also started using drones for a range of applications, from agriculture, forestry, and land records, to defense.
Spatial technologies are changing the way we live GIS is always at the core of these endeavors. Geospatial and satellite imaging will be the next game-changer for a lot of sectors including defense. In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, we are witnessing network jamming, the use of drones, satellite imagery, spatial analytics etc.
While the government has announced a lot of incentives and schemes for chip manufacturing in India, what more do you think needs to be done to build a world-class indigenous chip ecosystem that can rival South Korea or Taiwan?
Schemes such as the PLI (Performance Linked Incentives) began with electronics hardware, and then for mobile phones. The National Semiconductor Mission, which incentivizes chip manufacturing and design, was announced in December 2021. The way things are moving, we eagerly anticipate India’s first fabrication unit to be set up soon.
Last year, the Indian Semiconductor Mission conference was held in Bangalore, and now we are expecting another in a few months. India is open to collaboration with all the major chipmakers, be it USA, Korea, or Taiwan.
With the energies being unleashed, the vision is to turn India into a hub not just for software and assembly, but end-to-end manufacturing and design.
What do you think are some of the major skill gaps in the electronics sector in India, and how do you think we overcome them?
The Skill Council of India was founded in 2012. Since then we have trained over 1.8 million candidates, mainly in electronics. Manufacturing is one part, while servicing is the other. For that skilled technicians and people who know installations are required.
Vocational education in India started in 1950. It’s been almost 70 years. The first thought we had was how the industry should come ahead. Now the industry, along with the government, is playing an important role in skill development.
Under various subsectors of electronic system design and manufacturing, we talk to industries, understand their occupation map, and find out would be the jobs in demand in the next five years. Then we design the courses and get them validated by the industries, which ensures that upon completion of the certification, the candidates would be employed.
NCB is the revising body in India for National Council for Vocational Education and Training. And once they approve these courses, it becomes a national document, which is uploaded on the qualification register also that way. This is how things are shaping up. Though there is an issue of skill gap that needs to be addressed by taking the projects beyond the metros and the Tier 1/ Tier 2 cities to the rural areas as well.
