Is Foxconn's Pull Out Of Rs 1.5 Lakh Crore Chip Deal A Blow For India? Govt Responds

Hours after it came to light that Foxconn has withdrawn from India's semiconductor joint venture with Vedanta, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said that it has no impact on India.

"This decision of Foxconn to withdraw from its JV with Vedanta has no impact on India's semiconductor fab goals," tweets Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

The Union Minister of Electronics and Technology said both Foxconn and Vedanta have significant investments in India and are valued investors who are creating jobs and growth in the country.

"It was well known that both companies had no prior semicon experience or Technology and were expected to source Fab tech from a Tech partner. While their JV VFSL had originally submitted a proposal for 28nm fab, they could not source an appropriate tech partner for that proposal," he explained.

The minister stated that Vedanta through VFSL has recently submitted a 40nm fab proposal backed by a tech licensing agreement from a global semicon major, which is currently being evaluated by India Semiconductor Mission Tech Advisory group.

"It is not for government to get into why or how two private companies choose to partner or choose not to, but in simple terms, it means both companies can and will now pursue their strategies in India independently, and with appropriate technology partners in Semicon and Electronics," he added.

India's strategy of catalyzing the semiconductor ecosystem has seen rapid progress in the 18 months since Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved India's Semicon strategy and policy.

On Monday, Taiwan's Foxconn announced that t has withdrawn from a $19.5 billion semiconductor joint venture with Indian metals-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta, Reuters reported.

In a press release, the electronic major said, "Foxconn is working to remove the Foxconn name from what now is a fully-owned entity of Vedanta. Foxconn has no connection to the entity and efforts to keep its original name will cause confusion for future stakeholders."

As per the deal, Indian conglomerate Vedanta and electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn were supposed to set up a semiconductor and display manufacturing facility in Gujarat.

"Those editorializing about this decision of Foxconn/Vedanta being a "blow" to Indias Semicon ambition, I can only say it's a bad idea to bet against India under PM Modi," Chandrasekhar concluded with a message that "India is just getting started".

Meanwhile, Union Minister of Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn and mining behemoth Vedanta are committed to the semiconductor mission and the Make-in-India programme of the country,

"Both the companies Foxconn and Vedanta are committed to India's semiconductor mission and Make in India program," Vaishnaw tweeted.