Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State for Education, Communications, Electronics, and IT, emphasized the critical role of material in India’s manufacturing sector, citing the significant growth in electronics manufacturing from Rs 1.90 lakh crore to Rs 5.33 lakh crore. Speaking at the 30th foundation day event of the Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET), operating under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Dhotre highlighted the remarkable rise in mobile phone manufacturing from Rs 6 crore in 2014-2015 to Rs 33 crore in 2019-2020, contributing 3.6% to the manufacturing sector.
Addressing the need for Aatmanirbhar Bharat across sectors, Vijay Bhatkar, Vice-Chancellor of Nalanda University, stressed the importance of India’s active involvement in materials technology, particularly in electronics hardware research, an area where the country had previously lagged.
V.K. Saraswat, NITI Aayog member, emphasized the urgent development of technology to produce materials domestically, reducing dependence on imports. He underscored the need for focused efforts in developing technology for functional materials like silicon wafer, multi-crystalline silicon, and silicon oxide.
Jyoti Arora, special secretary and financial adviser at MeitY, marked International Women’s Day by highlighting the importance of sustained support for women pursuing STEM careers. Arora called attention to the low number of women in higher education and doctoral studies in STEM fields in India, urging continued support from NITI Aayog and the Department of Science and Technology for women scientists who have taken career breaks due to family responsibilities or maternity.