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The Vedanta Group is expecting government approval for its semiconductor and display fabrication plant soon. Speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18, Akarsh Hebbar, the global Managing Director of Vedanta's Semiconductor and Display business, said, "We have applied to the government for both semiconductor and display fabs and are expecting approvals very soon. We expect the government to move very fast on our applications post-approval.

Hebbar said Vedanta was in talks with key tech companies and will announce a tech partner very soon.

Hebbar said there is no change in the company's vision to make semiconductors. "Setting up a semiconductor foundry will be the nucleus of our business. We may consider collaboration with other payers coming into India in assembly and packaging, including Micron, which is one of the world's largest semiconductor companies, in the future," he said.

Hebbar spoke for the first time after the Vedanta Group announced a demerger, with the semiconductor and display business coming under Vedanta Limited.

He said that the company will leverage Vedanta's healthy balance sheets and assets like Hindustan Zinc to fund the new business and may consider public equity or debt once manufacturing begins.

As for timelines, the global MD said the company was looking at 2027 for the commercial production of semiconductors, and 2026 for the display production.

The company remains committed to launching a semiconductor and display fabrication plant in Dholera, Gujarat.

Responding to a question on how Vedanta would ensure competitiveness, considering the huge cost of talent and infrastructure required for chip and display manufacturing, Hebbar said Vedanta is focused on complete industry transfer to India. "Countries and companies want to see diversification of supply chains and India has a talent ecosystem. While price sensitivity may not go people are looking at making in India and as an alternative manufacturing destination," he said.

He feels the government and industry together need to invest in localising the ecosystem, skilling the workforce and developing the infrastructure.

Vedanta has already announced an investment of $20 billion for its new business. Outlining the capex requirement for the next 3-4 years, Hebbar said that the semiconductor foundry would require $8-10 billion and the display would need $3-4 billion.

The company is eyeing a big pie of India's display glass market. The company owns a Japanese manufacturer of LCD glass substrates, AvanStrate is hoping to bring the expertise to India, once the application for display manufacturing is approved.

"We see a big opportunity for display manufacturing as 95% of the India market is for LCD and only 5% is OLED," said Hebbar.

(The story has been updated to include more context.)

(Edited by : Amrita)

First Published:Oct 13, 2023 2:29 PM IST