‘Digital push, skilling key to India’s economic growth’

Trichy: A strong blend of digital and physical infrastructure, backed by skilling, is essential for India to achieve its goal of becoming the third largest economy by 2030, said S Krishnan, secretary, Union ministry of electronics and information technology, on Saturday.Delivering the Nani Palkhivala Memorial Lecture at SASTRA University, Krishnan highlighted the rapid expansion of the digital economy, citing an ICRIER study which projected it to grow from 12% of GDP in 2021-22 to 20% by 2030. He said a focus on electronics component manufacturing has pushed exports to nearly $40 billion in 2024-25. Electronics manufacturing and IT/ITeS sectors together have the potential to reach $1 trillion by 2030, he added.He also inaugurated advanced facilities at SASTRA covering electronics manufacturing, firmware development, e-mobility, and semiconductor testing and packaging. During the event, SASTRA signed MoUs with Tata Electronics and Caliber Interconnects to offer capacity-building programmes in electronics and semiconductor manufacturing, along with industry-focused internships.