The four projects spread across Panvel, Pune, Marathwada and Vidarbha are expected to generate 29,000 jobs, said the release issued by the government.

“Tower Semiconductor company and Adani Group would jointly launch a mega-project of semiconductor manufacturing at Panvel (District Raigad). There would be investment of Rs 58,763 crore in first phase and Rs 25184 crore in second phase, thereby a total of Rs 83,947 crore generating employment to 15,000 persons,” said the press release issued by the government. The announcement comes two years after Vedanta-Foxconn had cancelled their Rs 1.54-lakh crore investment in semiconductor plant at Talegaon Phase IV near Pune in September 2022.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was also present for the meeting while Minister for industries Uday Samant participated via video link.

Besides the semiconductor project, the sub-committee also gave its nod to Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Company’s investment of Rs 12,000 crore in Pune for a new electric vehicle manufacturing facility and Toyota Kirloskar Motor Company’s plan to establish an electric vehicle manufacturing unit in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar with an investment of Rs 21,273 crore. The two plants are expected to generate 1,000 and 12,000 jobs respectively.

It also said that Raymond Luxury Cottons will invest Rs 188 crore in Nandgaonkar Peth, Amravati, to develop a facility for spinning, yarn dyeing, and weaving jute and cotton.

Chief Minister Shinde emphasised that these significant investments in semiconductor and EV manufacturing will not only create direct and indirect employment but also enhance Maharashtra’s standing as a leading state in EV production. He noted that these projects will greatly benefit micro, small, and medium enterprises.

The announcement on the semiconductor project comes as a shot in the arm for the state government as two years ago in September 2022, Vedanta – Foxconn had cancelled their Rs 1.54-lakh-crore investment in semiconductor plant at Talegaon Phase IV near Pune in September 2022. The two companies that were in advanced stages of negotiations with the state of Maharashtra for the investment, finally signed athe MoU with the Gujarat government.

This had led to a huge political showdown in Maharashtra with the opposition MVA alleging failure on part of the newly formed state government led by Chief minister Eknath Shinde and alleged that it was working on behalf of the Gujarat lobby. The government had claimed that the previous MVA ignored the company and did not even hold meetings of the cabinet sub-committee on industrial affairs. Shinde had then said that the government will bring a bigger investment into the state.

Senior central government officials said that the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has not yet approved Tower and Adani’s semiconductor unit, but the two have applied for subsidy under the Centre’s Rs 76,000 crore India Semiconductor Mission.

“MeitY has not yet approved their application. It is currently with us and we are evaluating it,” a senior government official said on condition of anonymity. The Indian Express had reported in February this year that the Israel-based Tower Semiconductor had submitted a fresh application to set up a chip fabrication plant in India worth around $8-$10 billion. Tower had applied for central subsidy prior to this too, but had later asked the Centre to not consider its application due an impending merger with Intel.

The process for applying and securing central subsidy under the India Semiconductor Mission is this: an entity submits an application indicating their intent to set up a chip plant, along with the technologies, node sizes they would work on. A technical committee at the Centre vets the application for various parameters, including financial capability, and technological knowhow. Once this committee clears a proposal, it needs Union Cabinet approval.

The five semiconductor plants that have been approved by the Centre so far – one fab and four assembly and testing facilities – have all gone through the same process.

It has happened in the past that a semiconductor unit was announced at the state-level, but later fell through. In September 2022, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw attended the signing of an MoU between Vedanta-Foxconn and the state government in Gandhinagar for a chip manufacturing facility. However, in 2023, the partnership between the two companies to set up the $19.5 billion plant came to an abrupt halt. Foxconn announced that it was pulling out of the joint venture with Vedanta.