AshokS wrote:My wife worked at Intel R&D for several years in the development of 45nm and left this year after they finished the 45 nm projects, they have since moved on to 32nm and 22 nm. Although Intel has productionized 45nm, it is actually older technology in the relative space of micro electonics. Intel has a group called the Pathfinders that are working on tech today that you will see in the markets about 5 years from now (from 1000 core microprocessors to sub 22nm tech).
The other players (Sony, AMD, IBM) are using IBM's substantive R&D machine to come up with their 45 nm (already done and now in production) and also the 32nm and 22nm techs.
This is a heavily R&D investment business, if India wants to be in the Semiconductor R&D business, then they need to make the investments annually. Not the typically Indian half decade / decade planning approach. Babus can't be in this business - they need scientist, engineers, businessmen, and entrepreneurs running the show. What the GoI can do is only build and sustain a conducive ecosystem for semiconductor tech industry in India, and the rest will happen on its own:
- build a state of the art low volume 45nm with 300mm wafer production plant and a corresponding pilot plants for even 32nm tech TODAY - because by the time the plant is online 2 years from now the tech would be outdated.
- bring in significant incentives for the creation of semiconductor courses in engineering colleges and respective graduate degrees (this is a PhD type business not the third rate MCA degrees offered in India or even top of the line BS EE/CS degrees from IIT)
- Offer annual grants to industry and academia alike for newer technologies to be developed
- encourage high volume plants to be built by established companies
One has to develop his own sight / power of perception to see and understand things around us. It is not just INTEL/SAMSUNG/SONY that is developing the business and the technical wherewithal to squeeze money out of the system. Its a living organism, not just a GOI body that is funded by whims of largess of individuals to throw tax payers money.
I am hinting at few things.
1.) It is not just nations that are entities that change the course of world. Commercial corporations wield far more financial power than most nations on the face of earth. These commercial corporations have a mind of its own, is built on using right kind of people with right kind of drive and capabilities. {Again contrast it with Dept of Science & Tech a GOI outfit). This corporation has memory (like memory of people in a nation) and it goes out to get what it wants. It is driven by its own support base and its serves that base of people. {Contrast that with ‘for the people by the people’).
If there was a utopian UN, you would find half of the entities there will be business corporations, that are equals to nations that represent political power of people of a geographic part of earth.
2.) Like nations corporations have to be expansionist in its base instinct; protect its base, and expand into other's turf. Like nations (E.g. EU, ASEAN, SAARC etc) corporations also team up or merge
3.) Nations and corporations all fight for the stream of juice called money. The power to be and the key to more power is MONEY alone. foreign policy and weapons are just tools for that money, just like in a simple world technology is an instrument for a corporations. You strip a competitor of a technology (say by Patent, IP or other shitty butty Game theory byproducts), to cut his freedom to compete for the stream of wealth.
Similarly you can strip your competitors ability to foreign policy options (read ability to cooperate with any country XYZ to serve your interest where XYZ is set of {Israel, Tajikistan, Iran, Arabia... }) or weapons {read small yield weapon, light weapon, high yield weapon, AESA, jet engine, .. } to cut your potential challengers freedom to compete for the stream of wealth, by rules, bilateral or multilateral agreements/ treaties/ international laws/ US India Civil Nuclear Agreement / UN motions/ Shitty bitty/private clubs-NSG, MTCR, embargo, national laws to prevent a satellite launch that uses even one screw or IC made in USA …. .. .
If you recall in the movie "Mangal Pandey", the bewildered Magal asks William Gordon his british soldier friend :
- "So what is COMPANY {East India Company)?" {a bewildered ordinary Indian (RK-Laxman’s “Aam Adameeâ€