Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal on Saturday said that the group has firmed up plans to invest Rs 400 billion to expand production capacity of Hindustan Zinc and Cairn India, but the priority will be producing shale gas in Rajasthan, which will be done in nine months.
Both Hindustan Zinc and Cairn India are part of Vedanta Group. Speaking on the sidelines of an interactive session with the business community organised by Ficci-Rajasthan here, Agarwal said the group is also planning to invest $15 billion (approximately Rs 15 billion) to set up a manufacturing facility for LCD (liquid crystal display) panels used in cell phones, laptops, televisions and other electronic products. He, however, did not commit if this facility will come up in Rajasthan.
“The Centre’s Rs 760 billion incentive plan to lure the semiconductor fabricators and display manufacturers is a big decision. Currently, India imports 90% of its electronics items, including cell phones, TVs and laptops. But faster approval of projects will change the scenario completely in three years,” he said.
“Personally, I am interested in setting up the LCD unit here. But funding partners and experts will have the final say. They are currently evaluating government policies in Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and other states. They will decide on the location based on state policies,” Agarwal said.
AvanStrate, a Japanese company that Agarwal acquired four years ago, already makes glass substrates for small- and medium-sized high-resolution, thin-film transistor LCD panels.
On shale gas, Agarwal said India is not producing this gas today. “In whole of India, Rajasthan has the largest potential to produce shale gas. It is the second Texas in the world. We have earmarked investments of Rs 400 billion for capacity expansion at Cairn India and Hindustan Zinc, but the priority will be shale exploration and production by Cairn. In nine months’ time, we will produce shale gas in Rajasthan. It could be limited quantity initially, but we will achieve the target,” he said.
Agarwal said Rajasthan has the potential to significantly improve the overall economic condition of the country. “It is a state abundant in natural resources and with the production of oil, copper, gold, zinc, lead, etc., the imports of the country can be greatly reduced. Today 70% of the revenues of the country is spent on imports,” Agarwal added.
