The government would soon approve the joint venture between Vedanta and Foxconn's plan to manufacture chips as part of the $10 billion Indian Semiconductor Mission (ISM). This will open the door for the Center's initiative to make India a semiconductor hub on the international stage. They have a plan to manufacture 40 nm (nanometer) chips, but there are specific requirements they must meet.
Vedanta Foxconn Semiconductors Ltd (VFSL) has inked initial agreements for the transfer of technology with GlobalFoundries, a US-based company, and STMicroelectronics (STMicro), a European chip manufacturer. One of the officials stated that the information technology (IT) ministry had received the two's details. According to the source, VFSL has been requested by the government to provide information regarding the "binding technology transfer agreement" it has with one of the two businesses.
The IT ministry, the ISM's nodal ministry, has urged to GlobalFoundries and STMicro that they also purchase stock in VFSL. "The concept has received a favourable response from them. We are awaiting their response to the plan," the individual stated. According to GlobalFoundries, it was unable to "confirm any of this information" and had "no further comment." CEO David Reed, VFSL has a contract with "a technology partner" to
transfer and qualify a large volume, production-grade technology with licences for integrated circuit fabrication in India. However, we also have a non-disclosure agreement in place, so we are unable to share any other information.
VFSL is a 63-37 joint venture between Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) and India's Vedanta Group. It intends to invest initially up to Rs 66,000 crore in Gujarat's Dholera to establish a semiconductor manufacturing facility. The joint venture intends to invest Rs 1.54 lakh crore in total at the Dholera plant, which would also have a section for fabricating displays. As part of the ISM project, the government intends to provide selected applicants with up to a 50% subsidy in an effort to jump-start chip manufacturing in the nation. December 2021 saw the announcement of the ISM programme.
"There is a list of requirements they (VFSL) must meet before disbursal of incentives. The individual continued, "In addition to information on intellectual property rights holders, these also include details of the legally binding technology transfer agreement and the technology being used." It will also need to provide information on the length of the technology transfer process and the technical specialists who will be involved.
The official stated, "We will look at these specifics and impose requirements for any money that is handed to them. The IT ministry requested that the Vedanta-Foxconn JV include a third technological partner because it was unsure that the current partners had the necessary technical skills for fabricating and manufacturing semiconductors. The managing director of Vedanta's global display and semiconductor division, Akarsh Hebbar, had previously stated that the joint venture had given the IT ministry information about the technological partner.
Foxconn has taken the initiative among the two venture partners in choosing the technology partner. A "world-class manufacturable, high-volume, automotive-grade technology," he had said, was completely available to the joint venture. The Centre has received bids to establish semiconductor fabrication units from Next Orbit Ventures, which has collaborated with Israel's Tower Semiconductor as well as Singapore-based IGSS Ventures, in addition to the Foxconn-Vedanta plan. Intel is buying Tower; the transaction is pending regulatory approval.
