GLOBAL INFORMATION DISPLAY MARKET AND STRATEGY FOR INDIA

Recognizing the importance of displays in the context of information t echnology revolution, TIFAC-Electronics Board, Department of Electroni cs sponsored a study on Electronic Display Technologies. The objective of this study has been to examine the state of the art in various dis play technologies so as to identify the emerging displays technology t rends. Based on technology trends and global market scenario a strateg y for development of display technology need to be worked out. The pre sent report covers the global Information Display Market and Strategy to be adopted by India. Information displays are one of the generic te chnologies needed in all the segments of information technology as the man-machine interface. Further, the share of displays are increasing in the total cost of devices. The six major categories of displays are cathode ray tubes, light emitting diodes, plasma display panels, elec troluminiscent displays, vacuum fluorescent displays and liquid crysta l devices. All the six categories of displays are evolving into higher resolution and multiple colour capabilities. The major technology tre nds are presented in Section II. The current global market (1994) for displays is US$ 15.4 Billion. It is estimated that it will reach US$ 1 8.3 billion by 1996 and US$ 38 Billion by 2000 as per the estimates. I n the global display market the share of LCD will exceed that of CRT b y 1996. The flat panel display segment is increasing rapidly and by th e year 2000 it will account for 37 per cent of all the displays manufa ctured. The detailed analysis of the market for various displays is pr esented in SectionIII. Japan, US, Korea and Taiwan are making special efforts in creating competitiveness on a sustained basis. In Japan, th e large firms such as Sharp, Hitachi, Toshiba, Canon, NEC, Seiko, Mits ubishi dominate the CRT and LCD segments. Canon and Matsushita are wor king on ferroelectric LCDs. Japanese firms use globalization, alliance s and innovation in an integrated manner to sustain its competitivenes s in the global market. Recently, US has initiated a major drive for d eveloping and manufacturing advanced displays through a national conso rtium, with a substantially high level of investment. Similarly Korean and Taiwanese electronics firms are giving a major thrust for increas ing the share of display production. The details are given in Section IV. India has to increase its thrust for increasing the share of CRT, LED, LCD and PDP through a systematic initiative at the national level . Flat screen tubes, thin film transistor LCDs and large plasma displa y panels are the options to be actively pursued. The options are prese nted in Section V. There has to be a comprehensive national initiative for CRTs and LCDs in which research institutions, firms, financial in stitutions and user agencies are linked.