India must to develop technology to indigenously manufacture electronic materials: MoS

“In 2014-2015, the manufacturing of mobile phones was worth Rs 6 crore, which in 2019-2020 grew to Rs 33 crore. From contributing approximately 1.3 per cent in 2012, the share of mobile phone manufacturing has increased to 3.6 per cent during 2019-2020. This growth has opened employability for thousands,” Dhotre said.

With the Centre pushing for Aatmanirbhar Bharat in all sectors, the country needed to be greatly involved in materials technology, said Vijay Bhatkar, Vice-Chancellor, Nalanda University.

“In the past, India did not do significant research on electronics hardware, which is entirely dependent upon materials technology,” said Bhatkar, who led India’s supercomputer programme in the 1990s.

NITI Aayog member V K Saraswat too stressed on the urgent requirement of developing technology to develop materials within India and cut down imports.

“We need focused efforts to develop technology for producing functional materials. It has been observed that whenever there is a need for some material, India imports it. It is high time that India develops technology to manufacture some materials like silicon wafer, multi crystalline silicon, silicon oxide,” Saraswat said.

To mark International Women’s Day, Jyoti Arora, special secretary and financial adviser, MeitY, highlighted the importance of sustained support for women to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) as a career.

“In India, the number of women taking up higher education or doctoral studies in STEM remains meagre. Though there are many reasons, women in leadership roles, too, are few,” said Arora, who urged NITI Aayog and the Department of Science and Technology to continue women-centric programmes for scientists who had taken a career break due to family responsibilities or maternity.