In New Delhi: Top government ministers stated on Monday that Foxconn’s decision to leave the $19.5 billion joint venture in the semiconductor industry with Vedanta will not have an impact on India’s aims in the sector and that both companies remain dedicated to the nation’s flagship Make In India project.
The Semicon India Programme, with a budget of Rs 76,000 crore, was authorised by the Union Cabinet in December 2021 in order to support the growth of a strong and sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in the nation.

Under the programme, Vedanta Semiconductors Ltd., a Joint Venture between Vedanta and Foxconn, had submitted applications for Semiconductor Fabs, and had decided on Dholera Industrial City, Gujarat, as the final location for their proposal.
“Both the companies Foxconn and Vedanta are committed to India’s semiconductor mission and Make in India program,” Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a tweet reacting to the news.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar added that “this decision of Foxconn to withdraw from its JV wth Vedanta has no impact on India’s #Semiconductor Fab goals. None”.
“For over a year Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) and Vedanta have worked hard to bring a great semiconductor idea to reality. It has been a fruitful experience that can position both companies strongly going forward,” Foxconn said in a statement Monday. “In order to explore more diverse development opportunities, according to mutual agreement, Foxconn has determined it will not move forward on the joint venture with Vedanta.”

The Taiwanese tech giant said that it is working to remove the Foxconn name from what now is a fully-owned entity of Vedanta. Foxconn has no connection to the entity and efforts to keep its original name will cause confusion for future stakeholders, it added.

Separately, a Vedanta spokesperson reiterated that the company is “fully committed to its semiconductor fab project and we have lined up other partners to set up India’s first foundry”.

“We will continue to grow our Semiconductor team, and we have the license for production-grade technology for 40 nm from a prominent Integrated Device Manufacturer (IDM). We will shortly acquire a license for production-grade 28 nm as well. Vedanta has redoubled its efforts to fulfill the Prime Minister’s vision for semiconductors and India remains pivotal in repositioning global semiconductor supply chains,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Chandrasekhar said that both Foxconn and Vedanta have significant investments in India and are valued investors who are creating jobs and growth.

“It was well known that both companies had no prior semicon experience or Technology and were expected to source Fab tech from a Tech partner,” he said, adding that while their JV VFSL originally submitted a proposal for 28nm fab, they could not source an appropriate technology partner for that proposal.

“Vedanta thru VFSL has recently submitted a 40nm fab proposal backed by Tech licensing agreement from a Global Semicon major – which is currently being evaluated by @Semicon_India Tech Advisory group,” he tweeted.

It is not the responsibility of the government, the minister continued, “to delve into why or how two private companies choose to partner or choose not to, but in simple terms it means both companies can & will now pursue their strategies in India independently, and with appropriate technology partners in Semicon n Electronics.”

He claimed that in the 18 months since Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved India’s Semicon strategy and policy, the country’s strategy for fostering the Semiconductor Ecosystem has made rapid development.

“To those editorializing abt this decision of Foxconn/Vedanta being a ‘blow’ to India’s Semicon ambition , I can only say it’s a bad idea to bet against India under PM Modi…India is just getting started…,” Chandrasekhar added.