Vedanta plans investments worth $20 bln in India over next 4 years: Chairman Anil Agarwal

Anil Agarwal also said that Vedanta is fully committed to the glass and semiconductor venture

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Vedanta is looking to invest $20 billion in India across all its business over the next four years, Chairman Anil Agarwal said on May 1, on the sidelines of the company's 'Nand Ghar', a social initiative under the philanthropic arm of the mining conglomerate. The investment comes as the company is banking on the upswing in commodity prices to prop up growth.

"Growth in India is tremendous.. it's a double digit growth and there is a huge consumption activity. People are interested to invest in India and post the elections we would see recognition to entrepreneurships, which is very important," Agarwal said while detailing plans on the investment.

Agarwal also flagged that the investments would be focused into the glass and semiconductors business, intensifying investments on the electronics side, among other business. When asked about an update the company's plans on its semiconductors project, Aggarwal said, "We got a land in Gujarat but we need to find the best partner."

ALSO READ: Vedanta Q4 net profit falls 27% on subdued metal prices, high finance costs

According to media reports earlier this year, the minister of state for electronics and information technology is not looking at Vedanta's plans as serious in the absence of a technology partner. However, Agarwal said that the company is fully committed to the glass and semiconductor venture.

ALSO READ: MC Exclusive | No child's play, but India need to set up semiconductor capacity: Vedanta Chairman

The company held an event on May 1 to onboard bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee to its Nand Ghar iniative. Nand Ghar is a collaborative project between Vedanta and the Ministry of Women and Child Development, with an MOU signed up for developing modern aanganwadis as Nand Ghars across India, for the development of women and children.

"We aim to have about 25,000 Nand Ghars over the next two years," Aggarwal said. The company has constructed 6,000 such units as of today," the company said during the event.

Tuticorin copper smelter

In February, the Supreme Court dismissed Vedanta's plea seeking reopening of its Sterlite copper smelter plant in Tamil Nadu for judgement. The court noted that the repeated nature of breaches of law and regulations, sparked the decision. While Vedanta said it plans to file a review petition in the Supreme Court, Aggarwal flagged that the conglomerate has moved on from the smelter plant issue.

Asked about the update on the Sterlite copper smelter, Aggarwal said, "Just forget about it.. it just contributes to 0.3% to our business. We have moved on from that."