Maharashtra for forward integration in Guj JV: Vedanta

Mumbai: Vedanta Group, which along with Foxconn inked MoU for setting up Rs1.54 lakh crore semiconductor plant in Gujarat, said that it's still committed for Maharashtra. Anil Agarwal, Vedanta Group' chairman, said that Maharashtra will also play a key role in semiconductor plant as the state would be part of its forward integration plan.

"Maharashtra will be our key to forward integration in our Gujarat JV. We're fully committed to investing in Maharashtra as well," said Agarwal.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also welcomed Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal's tweet that Maharashtra will be key to 'forward integration' to the joint venture in Gujarat.

"We welcome your decision to choose Maharashtra for forward integration. We will always remain competitive and extremely business friendly," the BJP leader added. The Thackeray-led Shiv Sena had sided with the locals who were opposed to the refinery project that was to come up at Nanar in the coastal Ratnagiri district.

"We earlier shortlisted Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu for our proposed semiconductor plant and had been engaging with each of these governments as well as central government and have received fantastic support," Agarwal said.

"We decided Gujarat few months ago as they met our expectations. But in July meeting with Maharashtra leadership, they made a huge effort to outbid other states with competitive offer. We have to start in one place and based on professional and independent advice we chose Gujarat," the Vedanta chairman said. The multibillion dollar long-term investment will "change the course of Indian electronics", he said, adding that it will create a pan-India ecosystem and

Earlier, in a series of tweets, Agarwal said Vedanta-Foxconn JV had been professionally assessing site for the multi-billion dollar investment. "This is a scientific and financial process which takes several years. We started this about 2 years ago," said Agarwal.