UP IT minister says HCL-Foxconn JV to begin ops by 2027-28, says state wants to beat Taiwan in manufacturing

Additional large-scale investments are expected across NCR and possibly in the Lucknow region.

Uttar Pradesh aims to be at the centre of India’s semiconductor push, with the HCL–Foxconn joint venture expected to start operations by 2027-28, state IT and electronics minister Sunil Kumar Sharma said on December 2.

Speaking at the UP Tech Next Electronics and Semiconductor Summit in Lucknow, Sharma said the UP government has already allotted land for the HCL–Foxconn project and is backing the venture with 60 percent capital support. “We’ll provide them with electricity and 24 hours water supply,” he said.

Sharma noted that between 2002-2017, investors didn’t want to invest in UP because law and order was not supportive. But added, it’s not the case anymore. "Earlier UP had one district-one mafia, now it has one district-one product."

“No investor can be troubled now, under the Yogi Adityanath government,” said the Minister.

Pitching UP as a serious manufacturing contender, Sharma said, “We’re behind Taiwan for now, but we should be ahead of them (in terms of manufacturing),” signalling the state’s long-term ambition to move up the global electronics value chain.

He added that the Centre’s semiconductor policy is 'encouraging' and that the state is 'not concerned about tariffs', indicating that UP is prepared to align its incentives and infrastructure to attract large-scale chip and electronics investments.

Sharma said that the UP government has invited all the major tech players to invest in the state. "We’re talking to other players too, including Apple. He also mentioned about Rs 27,000 crore-Tarq Semiconductor project, which was approved by UP’s state cabinet in 2024, but is awaiting approval from the Centre.

Linking the sectoral push to the state’s growth target, Sharma said electronics, IT and ITES will play a big role in UP’s goal of becoming a $1-trillion economy. 'Today’s UP is not the old UP,' he said, stressing that the government wants electronics clusters in all key regions of the state and is 'aiming for that'.

"We’ll provide incentives to remove import dependence and promote self-reliance,” said Sharma.