Bangalore: Anil Agarwal, Chairman Vedanta The group was in Bengaluru on Friday to meet Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. A major discussion took place on Vedanta and Taiwan’s chip giant Foxconn’s plan announced in February to invest in a $20 billion chip and display glass facility in India. In an exclusive conversation with TOI ahead of the CM’s meeting, Agarwal gave some pointers as to what he would be discussing.
There was news that you may soon finalize a chip manufacturing site in India. What is progress?
My biggest priority is that India should reduce its imports. India imports 94% of electronics. The basic raw material for this is semiconductor and display glass. We both import, spending about $16 billion. We (Vedanta) are in the business of glass, we make optical fiber. We also make display glass in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, we are the fourth largest in the world. So, it was natural that everyone wanted to be our partner in semiconductor manufacturing. We chose Foxconn because it is a $200 billion company.
We’re moving very fast – the first thing to do is to identify the location. We have an independent committee which is going to all the states. We need to be closer to universities, infrastructure, water. It’s like making another silicon Valley – This will be a cluster. A lot of companies will come around the plant who will use our semiconductor and glass, because they will be much cheaper than importing. Therefore, the states should have a vision that it will not be just a chip plant, but it will be a 20-year plan. The project is about $20 billion, but we’ll start with $10 billion to make both the display glass and the semiconductor in one place. At the end of the month, we’ll pin the location. We are still waiting for the report to come.
Vedanta and Foxconn The representatives recently met the Maharashtra government…
Karnataka is in a favorable position. But they have not come up with any policy like the Maharashtra government has done. What is subsidy, what is the location, what is the condition of water. Karnataka is very keen, but we are waiting for the policy. Governments get scared because subsidies are huge. They wonder if they have the resources. But trust me, they will get 10x returns. and they should be clear with cupboard Approval, cannot change the policy when the next government comes. People don’t want to go to Andhra because they change their policy.
how much is the subsidy are you watching?
About 60% (of the total cost). Some are coming from the center and some from the state. Taiwan provided 90% subsidies, today everyone – US, China – wants to take Taiwan only because it has semiconductors. I have no doubt that India will be in a position to get there. But everyone has to stick together, focus on one thing, give space to the right people. Being close to universities is also very important. Because this business requires a lot of research.
There was news that you may soon finalize a chip manufacturing site in India. What is progress?
My biggest priority is that India should reduce its imports. India imports 94% of electronics. The basic raw material for this is semiconductor and display glass. We both import, spending about $16 billion. We (Vedanta) are in the business of glass, we make optical fiber. We also make display glass in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, we are the fourth largest in the world. So, it was natural that everyone wanted to be our partner in semiconductor manufacturing. We chose Foxconn because it is a $200 billion company.
We’re moving very fast – the first thing to do is to identify the location. We have an independent committee which is going to all the states. We need to be closer to universities, infrastructure, water. It’s like making another silicon Valley – This will be a cluster. A lot of companies will come around the plant who will use our semiconductor and glass, because they will be much cheaper than importing. Therefore, the states should have a vision that it will not be just a chip plant, but it will be a 20-year plan. The project is about $20 billion, but we’ll start with $10 billion to make both the display glass and the semiconductor in one place. At the end of the month, we’ll pin the location. We are still waiting for the report to come.
Vedanta and Foxconn The representatives recently met the Maharashtra government…
Karnataka is in a favorable position. But they have not come up with any policy like the Maharashtra government has done. What is subsidy, what is the location, what is the condition of water. Karnataka is very keen, but we are waiting for the policy. Governments get scared because subsidies are huge. They wonder if they have the resources. But trust me, they will get 10x returns. and they should be clear with cupboard Approval, cannot change the policy when the next government comes. People don’t want to go to Andhra because they change their policy.
how much is the subsidy are you watching?
About 60% (of the total cost). Some are coming from the center and some from the state. Taiwan provided 90% subsidies, today everyone – US, China – wants to take Taiwan only because it has semiconductors. I have no doubt that India will be in a position to get there. But everyone has to stick together, focus on one thing, give space to the right people. Being close to universities is also very important. Because this business requires a lot of research.