Parul
Taiwanese manufacturing giant Foxconn on Tuesday said it is working on an application to access incentives under India’s semiconductor manufacturing policy, a day after pulling out from its US$ 19.5 billion joint venture with Vedanta.
The company, also called Hon Hai Technology Group, said it is “working toward submitting an application related to the ‘Modified Programme for Semiconductors and Display Fab Ecosystem.”
“We have been actively reviewing the landscape for optimal partners. Building fabs from scratch in a new geography is a challenge, but Foxconn is committed to invest in India,” the company said in a statement.
Foxconn and Vedanta had signed an MoU in 2022 to establish semiconductor and display production parts in Gujarat.
The Taiwanese giant said it has “no intention to do anything but continue to strongly support the government’s ‘Make in India’ ambitions and establish a diversity of local partnerships that meet the needs of stakeholders”.
The government on Monday said that the decision of Foxconn to withdraw from its semiconductor JV with Vedanta has no impact on India’s semiconductor goals.
“Both the companies Foxconn and Vedanta are committed to India’s semiconductor mission and ‘Make in India’ programme,” said IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Both Foxconn and Vedanta have significant investments in India and are value investors who are creating jobs and growth, added Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Vedanta has also said it will go ahead with the project.
“Vedanta reiterates that it is fully committed to its semiconductor fab project and we have lined up other partners to set up India’s first foundry. We will continue to grow our Semiconductor team, and we have the license for production-grade technology for 40 nm from a prominent Integrated Device Manufacturer (IDM),” said the company.
According to Chandrasekhar, Vedanta has recently submitted a 40nm fab proposal backed by a tech licensing agreement from a global semiconductor major, which is currently being evaluated by Semicon India Tech Advisory Group.
