BHUBANESWAR: A day after the high-level clearance authority (HLCA) headed by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi cleared a proposal of a semiconductor manufacturing company for its upcoming unit in Odisha, the company surprisingly dismissed the reports of its investment in the state.
On Wednesday evening, the HLCA had cleared the proposal of Silectric Semiconductor Manufacturing Pvt Ltd for its Rs 3,034 crore silicon carbide device manufacturing unit in Khurda district.
CEO of Chennai-based tech giant Zoho Sridhar Vembu on Friday said the proposal is still pending and media reports on the semiconductor investment are inaccurate. Silectric Semiconductor Manufacturing Pvt Ltd was formed by directors of Zoho in March this year.
“I do not like to comment on rumours and speculation but today's news item on our semiconductor investment is inaccurate. Our investment proposal is still pending with various authorities and decisions have not yet been made. That is all I can say at this point,” Vembu posted on X.
This is for the first time that an investor has reacted on social media on a proposed multi-thousand crore investment in the state creating ripples in both the industry and political circles here with some hinting that the firm might have plans to shift the project to another location.
The HLCA had cleared 12 industrial projects worth Rs 39,271.5 crore with a potential to generate employment opportunities for 17,098 people. Among these projects, three proposals were in the Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sector and that of Silectric topped the chart.
Sources in the Industries department, however, said Silectric Semiconductor Manufacturing Pvt Ltd had applied for its silicon carbide device manufacturing unit on May 17 as per the Odisha government's single-window investor facilitation and tracking system. After due scrutiny, it was placed before the HLCA for approval.
Principal secretary of Industries department Hemant Sharma said the company had duly applied for the project seeking approval of the state government. Its authorities had met him on a couple of occasions and discussed the project. They also visited the proposed site before the project got the in-principle approval, he clarified.
Earlier in June, Zoho Corp had also confirmed that the company is keen on setting up its semiconductor fabrication unit in the country under the India Semiconductor Mission.