New Delhi: Vedanta Group has signed Memoranda of Understanding with 30 Japanese technology companies for the development of the Indian semiconductor and glass display manufacturing ecosystem. The signing was done at the Vedanta-Avanstrate Business Partners Summit 2022 held last week at Tokyo, Japan and was attended by more than 200 delegates from over 100 global companies.

The summit witnessed active interests from a host of companies keen to be part of the ecosystem for India’s semiconductor mission. Many partners were also felicitated for outstanding contribution to Vedanta Avanstrate business in the previous years.

The supplier conference also saw the unveiling of a “comprehensive manufacturing plan” (CMP) by Mr. Akarsh K. Hebbar, Global MD, Display and Semiconductor Business, Vedanta along with Dr. Alan Tsai, CEO, Avanstrate Inc. and Mr. Pranav Komerwar, India Head, Electronics Business. Sharing the Group’s vision and global plans of Indian display, semiconductor and Taiwan glass foray, Mr. Hebbar said, “We are committed to making India a hub for electronics manufacturing. Vedanta is focussed on taking the lead in creating the electronics industry ecosystem rather than just technology transfers. We are excited as this comprehensive plan has potential to generate business opportunities of over $40 Bn for our partners in the coming years.”

The event was also attended by representatives from Indian Embassy at Japan and Government of Gujarat led by Mr. Vijay Nehra, IAS, Director Technology Mission, Gujarat. Mr. Nehra emphasized, “Dholera region in Gujarat shall be developed along the lines of global science parks and has all required infrastructure in place. With Vedanta acting as an anchor unit, the region will be developed for 1000+ MSMEs to create a sustainable economic environment for hi-tech SCM. World class social infrastructure will be available for use in less than one year’s timeframe.”

Mr. Nehra added, “The initiative was led initially by our current honourable Prime Minister to develop Dholera as India’s Silicon Valley and has now started taking shape. Followed by individual company meetings with Govt. of Gujarat, the ecosystem partners pledged their willingness and requested reservation of facilities at the park.”

Global markets have been heavily reliant on the supply of semiconductors and display-fab on a handful of countries. The adverse effects of such dependence were glaringly visible during the supply-chain breakdown in the pandemic. To mitigate these global risks and make India self-reliant, the Government of India, under Hon. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has formulated the strategy for Aatmanirbhar Bharat and push for manufacturing of critical semiconductors in the country. The PLI scheme for semiconductors, the EMC 2.0 scheme and many other such initiatives have been brought by the Government to establish an ecosystem of high-end tech manufacturing in India. The PLI scheme approvals by the centre are expected in a month’s time.

Earlier this year, Vedanta-Foxconn announced MoUs with Government of Gujarat for setting up the semiconductor fab unit, a display fab unit, a semiconductor assembling and a testing unit in the state. The project envisaging total investment of USD 20 Bn with employment potential of over 100,000 people aims to provide affordable electronics for Indians and is attracting global players across the value chain entailing manufacturers of highly sophisticated and sensitive equipment, materials (high purity Gases, chemicals, wafers, photomasks), equipment service providers etc.

The success of the Tokyo Summit bolters India vision for self-reliance in key futuristic technologies. In the light of supply chain diversification, partners expressed that this is a timely opportunity for India to create a sustainable ecosystem for electronics development. DeshGujarat