Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal
On Vedanta picking Gujarat for its new semiconductor plant, Agarwal told CNBC-TV18 that an independent agency selected the state as a conducive location for the new plant.
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Agarwal also said that the funding for the chip plant in Gujarat would come from Vedanta.
The Vedanta chairman said once chips and glass are available in India, the cost of a laptop can fall from Rs 1 lakh to around Rs 40,000 per unit or less.
“We will not be manufacturing laptops, mobile phones, etc., but we are going to create a cluster to encourage manufacturers,” Agarwal said.
The oil-to-metals conglomerate along with Taiwan’s Foxconn on Tuesday signed a pact with the Gujarat government for investing Rs 1.54 lakh crore to set up a semiconductor and display FAB manufacturing unit in the state.
The project will include display and semiconductor facilities near the largest city of Ahmedabad in the western state. According to a Reuters report, while lobbying for incentives, Vedanta had sought 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of land free of cost on a 99-year lease, and water and power at concessionary and fixed prices for 20 years in April.
In Agarwal’s view, semiconductors are the new “oil” of our fast-moving digital economy. His post said, “a lot of you may already know what semiconductors are. I like to think of them as the brain of our electronics. They are present everywhere – in your TVs, laptops, automobiles, ACs, and your favorite smartphones.”
By producing such tech in India, Agarwal believes “the company will open the door to millions of indirect jobs. Startups and entrepreneurs can use these chips as raw materials to produce their electronics – bringing down costs and making them affordable for every citizen of the country.”
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