Shaping the digital age

When most of his classmates opted for Information Technology (IT), Akash Debnath stood firm in his decision to pursue Electronics Engineering. His parents enquired about his reasons for diverging from the popular choice. Debnath said his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut could not be fulfilled, but he wanted to choose a stream of engineering that would enable him to contribute to space. Today, Debnath works in an engineering and technology consulting firm in Italy as a digital design engineer, who is responsible for the development of sub-systems for space applications. Electronics engineers contribute significantly to the aerospace industry by designing avionics systems, navigation systems, communication systems, and control systems for aircraft and spacecraft.

A branch of Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering is a specialisation that utilises electrical components like electronic circuits, semiconductors, diodes, and transistors. This multifaceted discipline revolves around the concept of designing, developing, testing, and maintaining electronic systems and components. While some institutes offer Electronics Engineering as a stand-alone course, in many it is clubbed with Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) or Electrical Engineering (EE).

“Electronics and Communication Engineering is a ‘specific’ application area of Electronics Engineering. It was just historic because the first round of applications was found in communications, especially during World War II. Now, with ever more miniaturisation of electronics, Electronics Engineering is not only relevant but very critical to almost every discipline of engineering — be it communications, automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics, manufacturing and automation, and of course, computing,” said Dr Ravi Kishore Bhagavathula, Senior Director - Research & Innovation (Engineering), GITAM (Deemed to be University).

Prof Dr Rajiv Ganguly, Dean, UEM, Kolkata, stated that Electronics Engineering is normally “not taught separately.” “It is either taught with ECE or Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering (EIE). Electronic devices and fabrication form the core of the learning while communication, instrumentation, etc. are the application areas for the same,” he said.

In the technologically driven world, Electronics Engineering serves as an essential foundation. This branch of engineering attracts those who aspire to work in leading IT companies and the consumer electronics sector. It offers them the opportunity to come up with fresh ideas and inventive solutions to create better products. Those interested in specialisation can opt for MTech in Analogue Electronic Engineering, Systems Engineering, Software Engineering, Digital Development Engineering, Radio Frequency Engineering, Telecommunications Engineering, and Instrumentation Engineering.

“Electronics is a branch of engineering that governs the foundation of modern semi-conductor device fabrication and communication system development. Its application is in the field of computers, communication, space research and automation etc. In a single word, we can say that ECE deals with ‘chip to system’. So, an Electronics Engineer has in-depth knowledge of both hardware and software,” said Prof Dr Chandi Pani, HOD, ECE, Sister Nivedita University.

Today, Electronics Engineering can be a fulfilling career with opportunities as a project engineer, development manager, control engineer, instrumentation engineer, signal processing engineer, product designer, electronics technologist and telecommunication engineer. Meanwhile, ‘Vision 2022 for Indian Electrical Equipment Industry’ – an initiative by the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises has further increased the scope of electrical and electronics engineering in India.

India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) has also been set up to develop sustainable semiconductors and display manufacturing facilities and semiconductor design eco-system in the country in consultation with the government ministries industry, and academia. Minister of State (MoS) for information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar had said in Lok Sabha in December 2022 that the government has approved the Semicon India programme with a total outlay of Rs 76,000 crore for the development of semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country. He also mentioned the government is “very focused” on its important objective of building the overall semiconductor ecosystem and ensuring that, it in-turn catalyses India’s rapidly expanding electronics manufacturing and innovation ecosystem.

“India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) is a government of India initiative to develop semiconductor chip manufacturing in India. And to make it successful, the government has allocated Rs 86,000 crore in device manufacturing. From this initiative, 1.35 lakhs job opportunities will be credited in the next 4-5 years. A fresh engineer can earn

Rs 10-Rs 20 lakh per annum depending upon the company. For MNCS, salaries can go up to Rs 30-40 lakh per annum. Tata Group and Vedanta Group have already shown interest in setting up semiconductor chip manufacturing units in India. So, there’s a huge scope for electronics engineers in the next 4-5 years,” said Dr Pani.

Dr Ganguly also echoed similar thoughts and said how it has been recently estimated that the strength of a country is dependent on the capability to manufacture semiconductors and chips to keep pace with technological developments and automation. “This has specially become important after the Russia-Ukraine War. In addition to that, if we look into our surroundings in the modern era, all the devices, equipment etc. we are using are becoming more and more automated and advanced with user-friendly features. Starting from energy generation using solar power to advanced communications with photonic devices and fibre optic systems, automated cars, specialised healthcare to robotic systems for industry and medical applications, the applications are spreading their wings in all walks of life. To support these, the need for expert manpower is increasing day by day. Hence, studying Electronics Engineering is becoming more and more important in the present day,” he said.

The rise of 5G technology, Internet of Things (IoT), and advancements in wireless communication are also creating new opportunities in this sector. In the manufacturing industry, electronics engineers are involved in the design and implementation of automation systems, robotics, and control systems.

“Electronics is a very critical aspect of any complex engineering system. For example, it is the foundation for the growth of the highly-anticipated Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution. Simply put, the most critical software for AI and Machine Learning is written and run on complex electronic devices. Studying and mastering electronics opens opportunities in a wide variety of domains, which require complex systems engineering and product development activities,” said Dr Bhagavathula.