Investments: Vedanta to invest in Maharashtra also, says Anil Agarwal
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Amid a political controversy over Gujarat pipping Maharashtra to bag a nearly USD 20 billion project, Mumbai-headquartered metals major Vedanta Ltd Chairman Anil Agarwal said his company is “fully committed” to investing in Maharashtra.
He announced this via a series of tweets on Wednesday, apparently to quell the political brouhaha in Maharashtra.
On Tuesday, the company announced that the Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor plant would be set up in Gujarat. It signed two memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with the Gujarat Government to set up a semiconductor fabrication unit, a display fab unit, and a semiconductor assembling and testing unit entailing an investment of Rs 1.54 trillion and employment to around 100,000 people.
In a series of tweets late on Wednesday, Agarwal said the investments in semiconductor and display glass production would create an ecosystem of industries across the country. “We are committed to investing in Maharashtra. We will soon create a hub where Maharashtra will be part of our forward integration.”
He also said Vedanta and Foxconn had been engaging in dialogue with state governments for the last two years and hope to continue the conversations for the growth of the country in the years to come.
The assurances came after a political controversy sparked by the MoUs with the Gujarat Government. The Opposition in Maharashtra blamed the Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis-led government for losing the project to Gujarat.
However, through his tweets, Agarwal explained that Vedanta-Foxconn had been professionally assessing sites for the multi-billion dollar investment.
“This is a scientific and financial process that takes several years. We started this about 2 years ago.”
“Our team of internal and external professional agencies shortlisted a few states viz., Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, TN, etc to help achieve our purpose. For the last 2 years, we have been engaging with each of these governments and central government and have received fantastic support.”
Agarwal said that Gujarat met expectations, and they decided a few months ago. “But in July meeting with Maharashtra leadership, they attempted to outbid other states with a competitive offer.”
“We have to start in one place & based on professional & independent advice, we chose Gujarat. This multi-billion dollar long-term investment will change the course of Indian electronics. We will create a pan-India ecosystem and we are fully committed to investing in Maharashtra as well. Maharashtra will be our key to forward integration in our Gujarat JV.”
