The ferocity of the economic slowdown did not spare the semiconductor industry, which was also a victim of the crisis that left business houses bleeding billions of dollars. Now that there are signs of recovery, every industry is looking for ways to come out strong from the intensive care, and emerging markets seem to be the lifeline for several industries including semiconductor. “Emerging markets like India are a huge opportunity for the semiconductor industry,” says Biswadip Mitra, President and Managing Director of Texas Instruments.

Today India needs technologies to grow and the industries should make sure that these are delivered at an affordable cost. The Indian market is not only a major consumer of technology products, but the country is also a preferred destination for the development of these products, because of the cost benefits involved. “India is well known around the globe for semiconductor design, and several international and domestic companies are innovating here,” said Mitra, in the recently held 23rd International Conference on VLSI Design in Bangalore.

According to a report by Indian Semiconductor Association (ISA) and the research firm Frost and Sullivan, the total market for semiconductor revenues in India is expected to touch $7.59 billion in 2010. After reaching $5.9 billion in 2008, the market was estimated to grow at a CAGR of 13.4 percent. The global semiconductor market was estimated to be $261.9 billion in 2008 and is projected to grow to $273 billion this year, which shows that the expected growth in the Indian market is 6.4 times the global market CAGR.

Mobile Internet on a Growth Trajectory
Today, mobile Internet is booming and the demand will be mainly driven by users in emerging countries like India. As of September 2009, India had 471 million mobile users.

According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the mobile phone is emerging as the potential point of access for low PC and high mobile penetrated Indian market, although the present usage is restricted to only four percent of the total active Internet user base.