“Today, a laptop costs Rs 1 lakh, and once the glass as well as the semiconductor chip are available, the same can be priced at Rs 40,000 or less,” he told a leading news channel.
“The glass that is currently being produced in Taiwan and Korea will very soon be manufactured in India too,” Agarwal, the founder of one of the largest mining companies in India, said.
Talking about the future prospects, the metals and mining magnate said his firm would also push the manufacturing hub to Maharashtra where products, including laptops, mobile phones, even Electric Vehicles (EVs) will be made.
Agarwal also said that money would never be a constraint for the joint venture.
“There is not a single institution that does not want to fund us. Foxconn will own 38 percent of the equity and will bring in the money. Money will never be a constraint,” he said.
The semiconductor manufacturing facility in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state will see the mining conglomerate and Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant make one of the largest ever investments of Rs 1.54 lakh crore. The proposed facility will come up over the next two years. The mining giant will hold a 60% stake in the joint venture while the Taiwanese chip maker will own the balance 40%.
Of the Rs 1.54 lakh crore proposed investment, Rs 94,500 crore will be used to set up a display fabrication manufacturing unit, while another Rs 60,000 crore will go towards a semiconductor fabrication and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test unit in the planned Gujarat plant.
The Vedanta-Foxconn unit will operate on 28 nanometers (nm) technology nodes, while the display fabrication manufacturing unit will produce Generation 8 displays, which cater to small and medium as well as large applications, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday.
India’s bid to seed a vibrant semiconductor ecosystem is gaining momentum amid the growing move by global electronics majors to diversify supply chains beyond China, where stringent anti-Covid policies remain in force. While the supply shortage that gripped nations in mid-2020 has begun to ease, emerging economies including India are aggressively incentivizing domestic manufacturing of semiconductor chips, including those used in smartphones and other electronic devices.
.