THE MAKE IN INDIA WAISTLINE-EVERY INCH COUNTS!

How fit is the Indian hardware story after hitting the Make in India gym? Are we moving towards muscles like high-value addition, miniaturisation, own IP and strong upstream research-specially in components?

- Pratima H

The couch was comfortable. Or too deep to get out of. Either way, the Indian hardware industry kept gathering flab, and losing competitiveness while its counterparts, and its own sibling-the Indian software industry, kept turning lean and strong.

Now that it has decided to get up and follow a strict new diet-and-exercise plan, there are signs of high-definition abs in some areas. But some organs still struggle with cholesterol, accumulated over many decades, and it would take the industry a lot of effort, and rigour, to get fit and sharp in every way.

What would that mean? Let's start with a BMI chart first. And then let's see what new habits, super-foods and training can help to build those biceps and run fast as a stallion. May be turn into a Liew Thon Lin that attracts metal-naturally, effortlessly.

AN X-RAY INTO THE GOOD, AND THE FAT

Pot bellies cannot be flattened in one day. The journey of turning lean and fit is a long one. But standing on the weight-machine, time and again, gives a good view of what's working and what's not.

So let's take a peek into where the scales swing for Indian IT and electronic hardware players.

The Indian semiconductor market was valued at $27 billion in 2021 and is expected to hit $64 billion in 2026, according to a report by the Indian Electronic and Semiconductors Association (IESA). But only nine per cent of India's semiconductor requirements were sourced locally last year, the report reminds.