"India's own Silicon Valley is a step closer now." This is how Anil Agarwal, Chairman of Vedanta Resources, tweeted while announcing that the much-expected Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor plant will be set up in Gujarat.
The new company is in response to Indian government's call create a semi-conductor hub in the country. Vedanta is the first company to make the announcement to invest in semiconductor manufacturing after the Narendra Modi government approved a comprehensive program for the development of sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in the country at a total cost of Rs 76,000 crore.
Vedanta and Foxconn today formally signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Gujarat government to set up a semiconductor and display FAB manufacturing unit near Ahmedabad. The MoU was signed in the presence of Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, at a function in Gandhinagar. "Spectrum and silicon are the two prime raw materials of today's digital world. The world will watch India rapidly emerge as a very strong semiconductor player," he said.
Vedanta and Foxconn would invest Rs 1,54,000 crore to set up the facility in Gujarat, which is expected to create one lakh job opportunities
Electronics manufacturing in India to pick up
"History gets made! Happy to announce that the new Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor plant will be set up in Gujarat. Vedanta’s landmark investment of Rs 1.54 lakh crores will help make India's Atmanirbhar Silicon Valley a reality," Anil Agarwal said in a small Tweet thread.
"This project will help fulfil Hon'ble PM @narendramodiJi's vision of creating a robust manufacturing base in India. It will reduce our electronics imports & provide 1 lakh direct skilled jobs to our people...going from job seekers to job creators! (sic)," he added.
This project will help fulfil Hon'ble PM @narendramodi Ji's vision of creating a robust manufacturing base in India. It will reduce our electronics imports & provide 1 lakh direct skilled jobs to our people...going from job seekers to job creators! (2/4)September 13, 2022
Vedanta will hold the majority of the equity in the JV, while Foxconn will be the minority shareholder. Anil Agarwal will be the Chairman of the joint venture company.
"Electronics manufacturing in India has already generated around 25 lakh jobs. Modi ji has now given us the target to expand this 25 lakh employment record to 1 crore jobs . It means we need to take electronics manufacturing in the country from $80 billion to $300 billion," Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
"Foxconn applauds the efforts made by the Government of Gujarat, home of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to attract semiconductor development and upgrade government efficiency," Foxconn said in a statement.
Technical expertise from Foxconn
According to a Reuters report, Vedanta obtained financial and non-financial subsidies including on capital expenditure and cheap electricity from Gujarat to build the semiconductor plants. Other States like Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka had also been in the running to host Vedanta-Foxconn's mega project. The Gujarat government also announced its dedicated semiconductor policy in late July to work with New Delhi and promote semiconductor manufacturing in the state.
Foxconn will bring technical expertise to the venture while Vedanta, which has a background in mining, will finance the project. The Vedanta Group had in December 2021 said that it was planning to invest close to Rs 60,000 crore ($15 billion) over the next 5-10 years to make displays and other semiconductor chips in India. The investment will be made through Avanstrate Inc, the glass substrate manufacturer.
