Jointly led by Adani and Tower Semiconductor from Israel, a ₹839.47 billion semiconductor fabrication project has received approval from the Maharashtra state government.
Maharashtra’s cabinet sub-committee on industries, chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has greenlighted a semiconductor fabrication venture by Israel’s Tower Semiconductor and the Adani Group. This project and three other initiatives, a total investment of ₹1.17 trillion, have been approved before the state elections.
According to a government release, these four projects, spread across Panvel, Pune, Marathwada, and Vidarbha, are expected to generate 29,000 jobs. The other sanctioned ventures include two electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing projects and a textile plant.
The semiconductor project in Panvel, Raigad district, will involve an investment of ₹839.47 billion in two phases and is projected to create 15,000 jobs. ₹587.63 billion would be invested in the first phase and ₹251.84 billion in the second phase.
Moreover, the fab will start with a monthly capacity of 40,000 wafer starts in its first phase, and will eventually expand to a total capacity of 80,000 wafer starts per month.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis attended the sub-committee meeting where the final sanction was made, while Minister for Industries Uday Samant participated via video link.
This announcement also follows the cancellation of Vedanta-Foxconn’s ₹1.54 trillion semiconductor plant investment in Talegaon Phase IV near Pune in September 2022.
According to a statement by Chief Minister Shinde, these investments in semiconductor and EV manufacturing are supposed to generate direct and indirect employment and benefit micro, small, and medium enterprises.
However, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has yet to approve the Tower and Adani semiconductor unit, although they have applied for subsidies under the Centre’s ₹760 billion India Semiconductor Mission. A government source confirmed to the Indian Express that the process is under review.
The semiconductor project announcement is a milestone for the state government following the contentious cancellation of the Vedanta-Foxconn investment. The previous MVA government was criticised for neglecting the company, which eventually signed an MoU with Gujarat.
Indian Express reported earlier that Tower Semiconductor had submitted a new application to establish a chip fabrication plant valued at approximately $8-$10 billion in India. Tower had previously applied for a central subsidy but later requested that the application be withdrawn due to an impending merger with Intel.
Entities must submit detailed chip plant plans for review to secure a central subsidy under the India Semiconductor Mission. Through this process, the Centre has approved five semiconductor facilities: one fabrication plant and four assembly and testing units.
In addition to the semiconductor project, the sub-committee approved Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Company’s ₹120 billion investment in Pune for a new EV manufacturing facility and Toyota Kirloskar Motor Company’s plan to set up an EV unit in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar with an investment of ₹212.73 billion. These facilities are expected to create 1,000 and 12,000 jobs, respectively.
Furthermore, Raymond Luxury Cottons will invest ₹1.88 billion in Nandgaonkar Peth, Amravati, to develop a textile plant for spinning, yarn dyeing, and weaving jute and cotton.
