Vedanta to invest $20 billion in India over next 4 yrs: Report
Vedanta's Chairman, Anil Agarwal, announced on Wednesday that the company plans to invest $20 billion in India across its various businesses within the next four years, media reports said.
Agarwal made this declaration during the 'Nand Ghar' event, a social initiative organized by the philanthropic division of the mining conglomerate, reported Moneycontrol.
The investment is motivated by the company's confidence in the rising commodity prices to drive 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 was quoted as saying by Moneycontrol.
According to the report, Agarwal highlighted that the investments will primarily target the glass and semiconductor sectors, with a heightened focus on expanding investments in electronics, along with other business ventures. Regarding the progress of the semiconductor project, Aggarwal mentioned, "We have acquired land in Gujarat, but we are in search of the ideal partner."
Media reports earlier this year indicated that the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology viewed Vedanta's plans with skepticism due to the lack of a technology partner.
However, Agarwal asserted that the company remains fully dedicated to the glass and semiconductor venture.
In February, the Supreme Court rejected Vedanta's request to reopen its Sterlite copper smelter plant in Tamil Nadu for judgment. The court cited the repeated violations of laws and regulations as the basis for its decision.
Although Vedanta intends to file a review petition in the Supreme Court, Aggarwal stressed that the conglomerate has moved its focus away from the smelter plant issue, said the Moneycontrol report.
According to the report, when asked about the status of the Sterlite copper smelter, Aggarwal commented, "Let's just forget about it... it only accounts for 0.3% of our business. We have moved forward from that."
What are Nand Ghars?
On Wednesday, the company organized an event to welcome Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee to its Nand Ghar initiative. Nand Ghar is a joint project between Vedanta and the Ministry of Women and Child Development, aimed at creating modern aanganwadis known as Nand Ghars throughout India, dedicated to the welfare and 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.
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