“The Semicon India program has brought new energy to the ecosystem, signaling the government’s commitment to building a resilient and self-sufficient semiconductor value chain,” says Jose Lok, Product Category Director, Semiconductors, element14, in an exclusive interaction with the ELE Times under its exclusive series ‘Powering the Chip Chain.’ As India wrapped up its largest electronics and semiconductors carnival this month, we grabbed the hot seat to discuss some very pertinent issues with Jose, representing element14, a consistent feature of Global 500 Fortune companies, with its resounding presence across 140 countries, with over 125 company locations.
Reflecting on India’s journey in electronics and semiconductors, he says, “India’s semiconductor landscape is going through a remarkable transformation.” Underlining the impact of schemes like Semicon India, PLI, and DLI, he highlights the momentum contributed by these schemes to the wholesome electronics and semiconductor ecosystem of India. This is further coupled by India’s growing influence over the global supply chain as demand peaks back home across sectors like automotive, IoT, and industrial automation.
Making Access Easier and Efficient
In the interaction, Jose touched upon the critical challenges faced by the design engineers in developing new products. He says, “Engineers often face long lead times, difficulty sourcing small quantities for prototypes, and a lack of visibility into real-time inventory,” as he underlines the pain points.
He further adds that the company has made its business in India largely by addressing these pain points and making it easier for engineers in prototyping and R&D, including its intuitive e-commerce platform and an inventory of over 950,000 products from 2,000 leading suppliers.
Emerging Opportunities
Further adding to the impact of the government schemes, he says, “The increased momentum has translated into increased demand from OEMs and design houses. It’s also creating new opportunities for companies like ours to support emerging players with the right components, kits, and engineering resources.” Further, adding to the same, he emphasizes the visibility and structure offered by these to enable distributors like element14 to work more closely with the Indian engineers and also align their plans accordingly.
element14’s India Plans
Talking about the company’s India plans, he says, “For element14, India is a strategic growth market. It represents not just an opportunity to expand but to partner with a new generation of engineers and innovators.” He also sounds quite optimistic when it comes to India’s role in the global supply chain of semiconductors, as he underlines the growing demand for components across the globe in segments like automotive, IoT, and industrial automation.
Challenges in the Indian Landscape
Every company faces one or the other challenge when it comes to scaling in a given nation under certain circumstances. For element14, these remain to be infrastructure variability, diverse needs, and timely last-mile delivery, specifically in the remote areas. He says, “Strategically, the pace of policy execution and the need for talent development in chip design and testing are areas that will require continued focus.”
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Changing Roles
Reflecting on how the nation’s stride in electronics manufacturing impacts the distributors, he says, “The expectation from distributors has shifted beyond just availability.” The distributors are today expected to provide better technical support, along with alternative prototyping options, and also better credit terms, enabling an end-to-end partnership in the product development cycle.
As Jose puts it, “As India moves toward becoming a global electronics hub, distributors must grow into enablers of speed, reliability, and innovation.”
As India’s semiconductor ambitions gather pace, element14 is positioning itself as more than a distributor. “Our focus in India and across Asia is clear. We want to support innovation in a truly end-to-end way, from the early stages of design all the way to mass production and beyond,” says Jose. At its core, he adds, the company’s goal is “to be a reliable partner for innovation, one that grows with our customers and helps them build what’s next.”
| India’s semiconductor ambitions are backed by initiatives like the ₹76,000 crore ISM and the ₹1,000 crore DLI scheme, which focuses on fostering a strong design ecosystem. A critical part of this effort is ensuring design engineers get timely access to quality components.
To highlight how distributors are enabling this, we present our exclusive series — “Powering the Chip Chain” — featuring conversations with key industry players. |
