Anil Agarwal to invest $10 bn to make LCDs in India

Kalyani Group, Sweden's Saab tie up for air defence systems

Anil Agarwal owned Twinstar Display Technologies on Saturday signed an agreement with Maharashtra government to set up an LCD manufacturing unit, also known as Panel FAB, at an investment of $10 billion over five phases.

The deal was signed at the inaugural day of Make in India week in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Maharashtra government also signed investment MoUs with Raymond, Coca Cola and Jain Irrigation.

"We have made good of the promise we made to the nation during the Digital India Summit in July 2015. We are happy to participate in two of the government's key initiatives - Make in India campaign as well as Net Zero Electronics import by 2020. We will endeavour to make India a significant export hub of display units with the setting up of Panel FAB," said Anil Agarwal, chairman, Vedanta Group. Agarwal had announced similar investment plans in Bihar during the Digital India week held in July last year.

Maharashtra government signed MoUs with Coca Cola and Jain Irrigation for juice manufacturing facility to support farmers growing oranges in Vidarbha. The project is expected to benefit 5,000 farmers with an average landholding of two acres each.

The host state also signed an MoU with Raymond to set up a unit in Nandgoan Textile Park at an investment of Rs 1,400 crore. The unit will procure cotton from the farmers in the district and Vidarbha region which has been affected by drought.

Agarwal said Panel FAB production will begin by 2018. Upon completion, the project will provide direct and indirect employment to over 30,000 people, and contribute 7-10 per cent to Maharashtra's industrial gross domestic product. The project requires about 300 acres of land and two locations have been selected so far. However, the state government official hinted that the project may come up in the under-developed Vidarbha or Marathwada regions.

"An FAB unit can only be successful if the whole ecosystem around it develops and Twinstar Display Technologies is confident of bringing many ancillary partners to the country and make India a leading Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (EDSM) destination," the company said.

Chinese heavy equipment major Sany group said it plans to ramp up its presence in the country and will be taking its overall commitment in India to $1 billion over the next decade. "We have already invested $100 million in our plant in Pune and are looking at taking our investment in the country to the tune of $1 billion over the next 10 years," Sany Group President Tang Xivguo told PTI.

Kalyani-Saab partnership
Swedish defence major Saab on Saturday tied up with Kalyani Group to form a joint venture firm for the multi-billion dollar contract for short-range surface-to-air missile and man-portable very short-range air defense (VSHORAD) programmes.

The joint venture, which will be set up by Saab and Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd (KSSL), the defence arm of Kalyani Group, will handle the main part of production and delivery of these air defence systems to the Indian customer if they win the ongoing tender process.

The production in India will comprise of subsystems and systems for SRSAM and VSHORAD with the aim to transfer production as well as development knowledge to India. "I am glad to announce our contribution to Make in India through our agreement with KSSL and the Kalyani Group to establish a joint venture company in India for the Air Defence Programmes. "The JV is already under preparation within both companies, and will be ready to launch soon," said Gorgen Johansson, head of Saab business area Dynamics.

To secure production quality, orders of missile parts have already been issued to KSSL and production-readiness reviews are ongoing. Saab and KSSL are already planning for the technology transfer for different packages within the programmes.

"The joint venture company will combine Saab's knowledge and experience as a developer and supplier of high-technology radar and missile systems, with the engineering excellence and manufacturing capabilities of the Kalyani Group. The joint venture will create a global supplier in the area of Ground Based Air Defence Systems based in India," said Amit Kalyani, executive director, Kalyani Group.