Vedanta — an Indian oil, gas, and metals conglomerate — plans to finalize a $20 billion deal with the Taiwanese microchip maker Foxconn by June to produce semiconductors within India starting in 2024, India’s Swarajya magazine reported on Thursday.
Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal confirmed the development to Reuters on May 25, revealing his company will choose a location within India for its “semiconductor and display plants … by mid-June and will have the first chip product ready in two years.”
Vedanta announced plans to launch its joint venture with Foxconn in February as part of a plan to diversify into microchip manufacturing.
“Foxconn is our technical partner. We may not take equity partner for the fab,” Agarwal told Reuters on Wednesday.
The Vedanta chairman added that Foxconn “will have technical responsibility for the operation, from providing the tech to making semiconductors.”
Agarwal said his company was “seeking incentives” from the Indian federal government in connection with the manufacturing deal and was also “in talks with several Indian states on the unit’s location.”
Foxconn is best known as the main assembler of iPhones for the U.S.-based technology giant Apple. The company is a Taiwan-based multinational electronics contract manufacturer officially known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
The administration of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently announced plans to “expand incentives beyond an initial $10-billion plan for those investing in semiconductor manufacturing, as it aims to become a key player in the global supply chain for chips,” Reuters observed on May 25.
India hopes to establish a domestic “hub for semiconductors for the world” in the coming years, Prime Minister Modi said during a speech at a semiconductor conference in Bengaluru on April 29. Modi highlighted his administration’s recent efforts to sow supportive conditions for the goal, including the enhancement of digital connectivity across India.
“India has the appetite for tech and risk taking. We have put the odds in your favour as far as possible through supportive policy environment. We have shown that India means business,” the Indian prime minister said during his address at the technology forum, as quoted by the Economic Times of India.
“The India market for semiconductors would reach $80 billion by 2026, and cross $110 billion by 2030,” Modi predicted.
Indian Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also spoke at the Bengaluru event on April 29. He said India was providing “substantial incentives” to Indian companies looking to engage in microchip production in the near future.
“But the big differentiator is that we have committed to create and augment our talent pool by 85,000 industry-ready semiconductor professionals over the next 10 years,” he noted.
Vaishnaw said India’s government has coordinated with foreign institutions including the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre of Belgium; the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan; and the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research of Singapore to boost the study of relevant technology and business fields among Indian students as part of the mission.
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