India among few nations building indigenous satellite chipsets: Tejas Networks EVP

New Delhi [India], November 5 India is among the very few countries globally that have developed indigenous satellite chipsets, reflecting the nation's growing self-reliance and technological maturity in the satellite communication (SATCOM) sector, Parag Naik, said, Executive Vice President of Tejas Networks and former CEO of Saankhya Labs.

Speaking toin an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the Emerging Science, Technology, and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC), Naik said, "We are probably one of the few companies in the world that actually have satellite chipsets and we are building satellite IoT devices."

He added that India's SATCOM industry is "fairly advanced, with ISRO taking the lead in putting out the satellites."

Naik said the company is now working on "next generation, non-terrestrial 3GPP-based standards for satellite communications," which will form an integral part of future 6G networks.

He emphasised that satellites will play a defining role in connecting remote regions and supporting national security as India advances into next-generation connectivity.

He pointed out that India's indigenous satellite technologies are already saving lives.

"A fisherman distress signal, that's completely indigenous stuff, built on indigenous chipsets and deployed all over the Indian coasts. It saved quite a few lives and helps fishermen not get into hostile territory," he said.

Naik added that this product was "listed as one of the top social impact innovation products at MWC earlier this year."

Beyond SATCOM, Naik said India must focus on transforming into a product-driven innovation hub.

"This is not SATCOM alone; this is about digital communications generally. We have made a list of recommendations that hopefully get into the policy on how to make India a product nation by 2047," he told ANI.

He also supported creating "an innovation center in every district," noting that "most rural kids are very practical" and that Tejas Networks itself hires many engineers from rural backgrounds.

Discussing semiconductor progress, Naik said, "Policies in semiconductors have been things that are baby shoots.

Every policy will never be perfect. It'll keep changing, it'll keep evolving."

He emphasised nurturing a long-term innovation culture: "We should incentivise curiosity, incentivise building products, incentivise late gratification."

On semiconductor policy, he noted, "Every policy will never be perfect. It'll keep changing, it'll keep evolving."

But he said efforts like DST's Rs 1 lakh crore fund and Production Linked Incentive-Design Linked Incentive (PLI-DLI) schemes are building a strong foundation for deep-tech growth.

"Hardware is hard. It takes about eight to ten years before you start to see real big successes come out. We are building the foundation," he added.

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