The Vedanta Group reportedly made two key requests to the Maharashtra government before finalising the location of its Rs 1.5 lakh crore semiconductor facility in Talegaon, which is a proposed site near Pune. The two requests were ‘Central (BJP-led) government alignment’, and state Cabinet approval.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, in a letter to Anil Agarwal on July 26, Vedanta Group’s Chairman, said, “…(your) two key requests from the state are to seek central government alignment and cabinet approval. You will be pleased to know that on both fronts, the state is already in advanced stages and is moving ahead expeditiously.”
Eknath Shinde took oath as CM on June 30.
15th July 2022: HPC meeting is conducted for semiconductor project, offering all possible incentives.
25th- 26th July: current dispensation claims in Assembly & media that industry is coming to Maharashtra.
Yet, Industries Dept loses out on this. 1 lakh job opportunity lost https://t.co/h06zRSrPAy
— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) September 16, 2022
In his letter, inviting Agarwal and Vedanta. Foxconn, and AvanStrate for an ‘MoU signing ceremony’ on July 29, Shinde also assured him that a ‘high-powered committee’ had given an in-principal approval for the incentive package and that this would be cleared by the state cabinet.
“In addition, we are also seeking alignment with the highest levels of the government of India to request unfettered support in ensuring the project receives due support,” CM penned.
He also added, “The event will feature the highest decision makers from the political and state leadership in the state and we believe it is an essential next step in ensuring a seamless cabinet approval. We also believe the MoU will form a strong basis for (the) Government of India to favorably approve the project to meet the capital purchase plan as outlined by Akarsh during our discussion.”
It is pertinent to mention here that the Maharashtra Cabinet formed on July 26 comprised only rebel Sena leader Shinde and BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis.
At the time, Vedanta Group spokesperson had declined to comment when asked about their requests made to the government. Later, Industries Minister Uday Samat was asked what happened after the letter, he said that, looking at Agarwal’s tweet, it is believed that Vedanta had already made its mind to invest in Gujarat.
Taking to Twitter, Agarwal said, “This is a scientific and financial process which takes several years. We started this about 2 years ago. We decided (on) Gujarat (a) few months ago as they met our expectations.”
The Vedanta-Foxconn joint venture signed an MoU with the BJP-led Gujarat government for setting up the semi-conductor facility. Shinde and Deputy CM Fadnavis are currently facing heat for letting the Rs 1.5 lakh-crore project ‘slip out’ of the state.
Shiv Sena leader and former Industries Minister Subhash Desai said, “If the project has gone to Gujarat despite that, then it is clear that the decision is political, and under pressure from the central government.”
Responding to the Opposition’s attacks, Shinde said in his defence, “We came to power only two months ago. Vedanta Foxconn did not get the desired response from the earlier (MVA) government.”
Shinde had also noted that the Maharashtra government had a chance to meet the leadership from Vedanta, Foxconn, and AvanStrate teams and that it was ‘heartening’ to witness the significant progress that has been made to ensure the state’s policy incentives, infrastructure offerings, and ecosystem are aligned to the project needs.
He added that India will only be the fifth nation to host a semiconductor and display ecosystem of this size, as was said during the conference, and with Vedanta as an anchor investor, we are optimistic about achieving the objective of establishing the world’s next Silicon Valley in Maharashtra’s Pune.
While Shinde stated that he was anticipating “earliest confirmation” from Vedanta-Foxconn , however, they subsequently chose Gujarat.
