Adani announces $10 billion semiconductor venture in partnership with Israel's Tower

Mumbai, Sep 6 (PTI) The Adani Group plans to invest Rs 83,947 crore (USD 10 billion) with Israeli partner Tower Semiconductor in setting up a chip manufacturing plant in Maharashtra, the state chief minister said.

The conglomerate led by billionaire Gautam Adani has businesses ranging from seaports to airports, renewable energy, gas, commodities, data centres and media, and this will be its maiden foray into semiconductor manufacturing.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in a post on X that listed projects approved by the state cabinet's sub-committee on Thursday, said the Adani-Tower will set up the chip manufacturing facility at Taloja on the outskirts of Mumbai.

Without giving timelines, he said the project will manufacture 40,000 wafers (a thin slice of semiconductor material that is used in fabricating integrated circuits) per month in Phase 1 and 80,000 wafers per month after Phase II.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also posted about the approval on X.

The government has been pushing for setting up semiconductor units in the country to cut reliance on imports. India's semiconductor market is expected to be worth USD 63 billion by 2026.

The chips manufactured at the upcoming facility of Adani will be used in drones, cars, smartphones and other mobility solutions.

Tower has chip-making factories in Israel, Italy and the US. Its sales are, however, a fraction of industry giants Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

Tata Group is setting up semiconductor units in Assam and Gujarat, which will every month produce 50,000 of the so-called mature chips - using 40-nanometer or older technology - that are still widely used in consumer electronics, automobiles, defence systems and aircraft.

In all, the Maharashtra government gave approval to four high technology mega projects, which entail a cumulative investment of Rs 1.17 lakh crore and with the potential of creating 29,000 jobs in Marathwada, Vidarbha, Pune and Panvel near Mumbai.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the cabinet sub-committee of the industries department on Thursday evening, officials said.

The projects would result in investment in sectors like semiconductors and electric vehicle manufacturing, a statement from the chief minister's office (CMO) on Friday said, adding that it would help Maharashtra get the identity of a leader state in the EV sector.

These projects would help develop a strong local supply chain and give a major boost to technical innovation, research and development, Shinde said.

"It would help micro-small and medium industry stakeholders and also enable the local labour force to get training and skill development opportunities, which would raise employability and the skill bar needed for upcoming technologies," he said.

As per the statement, Tower Semiconductor company and Adani Group would jointly launch a mega semiconductor manufacturing project at Panvel in the neighbouring Raigad district, with an investment of Rs 58,763 crore in the first phase and Rs 25,184 crore in the second phase. The total investment will be Rs 83,947 crore, and it would generate employment for 15,000 persons.

An electric vehicle manufacturing project of Skoda Auto Volkswagen India, with an investment of Rs 12,000 crore, will be set up in Pune, and it would provide employment to 1,000 persons.

The CMO statement said Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar would be the location for a mega electric vehicle manufacturing project of Toyota Kirloskar Motor Company. This project would have an investment of Rs 21,273 crore and result in the generation of 12,000 jobs.

The MSME sector in Marathwada, of which Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar is a part, would benefit from this project, while the use of EVs will reduce greenhouse gases, the statement added.

"Under the textile policy, Raymond Luxury Cottons would set up a mega-project at Amravati for manufacturing products through spinning, yarn dyeing, weaving jute, weaving cotton, jute, mesta and cotton. This project would come up at Nandgaon Peth MIDC with an investment of Rs 188 crore. It would generate employment for 550 persons," the CMO statement informed.

The sub-committee meeting held in July had given the nod for projects costing Rs 80,000 crore, while projects entailing an investment of Rs 2 lakh crore were given the nod in the last two months, which would result in the generation of 35,000 jobs, it added.

The meeting of the cabinet sub-committee held on July 30 gave approval for the mega semiconductor manufacturing project of RRP Electronics, which is the first semiconductor manufacturing project in the state.

The project by Toyota Kirloskar would be the second in the EV sector in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, as a nod was given for a manufacturing facility by JSW Green Mobility. PTI