Emerging sectors to drive next industrial revolution: Report

NEW DELHI: Emerging sectors, such as space, data centers, solar energy, semiconductors and electronics are set to drive the next phase of industrial revolution in India as the large domestic opportunity is driving private participation.Supportive govt policies, such as tax holidays for establishing data centres, large incentive schemes for boosting semiconductor production, electronics and solar cells, along with promoting greater private participation in the space sector, are some of the policies that will drive growth in these industries, a report by global investment banker Jefferies has said.The report said India’s next industrial revolution is being built on an already significant manufacturing base in select industries, such as steel, cement, automobiles and oil refineries. “The combination of scale, domestic demand, manufacturing capabilities and policy support provides a strong foundation for the country’s next growth engines in (these industries),” the report said.In the space sector, the report noted that India is among a handful of spacefaring nations with “global competitive capabilities” and govt is targeting nearly five times expansion in the space economy to $40-50 billion over 2023-30. From just one space startup in 2014 to over 400 in 2026, investor interest is rising with cumulative private investment reaching $600 million by 2025-26. “Indian space start-ups are now progressing from early stage innovation to commercial execution.“In semiconductors, the report said India’s aspirations are moving from policy intent to execution with nearly $20 billion of investments, including a chip fab under construction. A new $13 billion incentive plan should further expand the ecosystem and boost value addition, including chip design.Regarding data centres, the report said the space is rapidly emerging as a strategic digital infrastructure segment, with colocation capacity expanding five times over the past five years to 2 GW (gigawatt). “Capacity is expected to grow another five times to nearly 10GW over the next five years, supported by favourable cost economics, policy support and rising hyperscale demand.”