Billionaire Anil Agarwal will invest $10 billion or Rs.68,000 crore to set up India’s first and one of world’s largest liquid crystal display (LCD) panel manufacturing units, known as Panel FAB, in Maharashtra.
The money will be invested in five phases by Twinstar Display Technologies, promoted by Mr. Agarwal’s investment firm, Volcan Investments.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed with the Government of Maharashtra on the sidelines of the ‘Make in India’ Week in Mumbai. Mr. Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta Group, said: “We have made good 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 — the ‘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.”
Panel FAB is expected to begin production by 2018 with the plant reaching full capacity in the next 10 years. Upon completion, the project will provide direct and indirect employment to over 30,000 people, and contribute between seven and 10 per cent of Maharashtra’s Industrial Gross Domestic Product.
The project requires about 300 acres of land and two locations have been shortlisted so far, according to a company statement.
Panel-based products India is one of the fastest growing markets for LCD panel-based products such as televisions, smart phones, tablets, desktops and laptops.
At present, all LCD panels are imported and by 2020, India’s LCD panel imports are expected touch $10 billion.
Cut imports Panel FAB will not only significantly reduce imports but also earn foreign exchange through exports, according to the statement.
The 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.
