Foxconn Clarifies No New Investment, Tamil Nadu Reiterates 14,000 Job Proposal

A controversy has engulfed the Tamil Nadu government after Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, reportedly denied committing to a fresh Rs 15,000 crore investment in the state, contradicting enthusiastic announcements from Chief Minister MK Stalin and Industries Minister TRB Rajaa. The Taiwanese giant's clarification, issued a day after a high-profile meeting in Chennai, has sparked a political firestorm, with opposition parties accusing the ruling DMK of inflating investment figures for electoral gain.

Rajaa, however, maintained that discussions for the project—poised to generate 14,000 high-value jobs in advanced manufacturing, R&D, and AI operations—have been underway for over a year, framing the denial as a matter of semantics rather than substance.

The dispute traces back to Monday's meeting between Foxconn India representative Robert Wu and Chief Minister Stalin, where the state leaders hailed the deal as a landmark achievement. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Rajaa celebrated the "next phase" of Foxconn's expansion, pledging Rs 15,000 crore and the creation of specialised roles for engineers. He announced that Guidance Tamil Nadu, the state's investment promotion arm, would establish a dedicated Foxconn desk to streamline implementation.

Stalin echoed the sentiment, dubbing it a triumph of the "Dravidian Model" and positioning Tamil Nadu as South Asia's emerging hub for manufacturing and innovation. These statements aligned with the state's aggressive push to attract global tech firms, building on Foxconn's existing footprint in India, including its massive iPhone assembly plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, which employs over 40,000 workers and contributes significantly to the region's electronics exports.

Foxconn's response, however, introduced ambiguity. A senior official from Rajaa's team clarified to NDTV that the company views the investment as an extension of ongoing talks rather than a "new" commitment, possibly influenced by external pressures from a U.S. tech partner amid escalating U.S.-China trade tariffs under the Trump administration. Sources suggest geopolitical sensitivities, including supply chain diversification away from China, are at play as Foxconn navigates restrictions on technology transfers.

The firm, a key supplier to Apple, has invested over $1.5 billion in India since 2017 but has been cautious in public disclosures to avoid regulatory scrutiny. This nuance has fuelled the row, with the state insisting the economic impact remains transformative for Tamil Nadu's ambition to rival Gujarat and Karnataka in FDI inflows.

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Opposition leaders wasted no time in capitalising on the perceived discrepancy. PMK chief Dr Anbumani Ramadoss labelled it "a bag of lies exposed in half a day", demanding a comprehensive white paper on all state-announced investments to verify claims. BJP spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy branded it a "Dravidian lie" and an embarrassment for Tamil Nadu, accusing the DMK of misleading the public ahead of local elections. Rajaa fired back, urging critics to "stop making childish statements without understanding the geopolitical issues involved and the difficulty in drawing investments into India."

The exchange highlights deepening political divides in the state, where industrial development pledges often become flashpoints. As Tamil Nadu's electronics sector—valued at $20 billion annually—eyes further growth, the episode underscores the challenges of balancing hype with transparency in a competitive global landscape.

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