Business: The Adani Group plans to invest ₹ 83,947 crore (USD 10 billion) with Israeli partner Tower Semiconductor in setting up a chip manufacturing plant in Maharashtra, the state chief minister said.

The conglomerate led by billionaire Gautam Adani has businesses ranging from seaports to airports, renewable energy, gas, commodities, data centres and media, and this will be its maiden foray into semiconductor manufacturing.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in a post on X that listed projects approved by the state cabinet's sub-committee on Thursday, said the Adani-Tower will set up the chip manufacturing facility at Taloja on the outskirts of Mumbai.

Without giving timelines, he said the project will manufacture 40,000 wafers (a thin slice of semiconductor material that is used in fabricating integrated circuits) per month in Phase 1 and 80,000 wafers per month after Phase II.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also posted about the approval on X.

The government has been pushing for setting up semiconductor units in the country to cut reliance on imports. India's semiconductor market is expected to be worth USD 63 billion by 2026.

The chips manufactured at the upcoming facility of Adani will be used in drones, cars, smartphones and other mobility solutions.

Tower has chip-making factories in Israel, Italy and the US. Its sales are, however, a fraction of industry giants Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

Tata Group is setting up semiconductor units in Assam and Gujarat, which will every month produce 50,000 of the so-called mature chips - using 40-nanometer or older technology - that are still widely used in consumer electronics, automobiles, defence systems and aircraft.

In all, the Maharashtra government gave approval to four high technology mega projects, which entail a cumulative investment of ₹ 1.17 lakh crore and with the potential of creating 29,000 jobs in Marathwada, Vidarbha, Pune and Panvel near Mumbai.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the cabinet sub-committee of the industries department on Thursday evening, officials said.

The projects would result in investment in sectors like semiconductors and electric vehicle manufacturing, a statement from the chief minister's office (CMO) on Friday said, adding that it would help Maharashtra get the identity of a leader state in the EV sector.