New Delhi: Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister J P Nadda on Monday emphasised the need to increase the size of the chemicals sector to USD 1 trillion by 2040 and said the government is focused on creating an ecosystem to boost investments for increasing domestic manufacturing capabilities.
On Monday, Nadda chaired a CEO roundtable to deliberate on India’s ambition of building a USD 1 trillion Chemicals sector by 2040, an official statement said.
The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, in partnership with Invest India, organised the roundtable.
Nadda “emphasised that the sector has to touch the USD 1 trillion vision by 2040 in the country”, the statement said.
He said the government is committed to establishing a continuous and institutionalised dialogue mechanism with the industry. The aim is to identify impediments and translate suggestions into time-bound action.
The minister said that it would require sustained investment, technology development, and stronger domestic manufacturing capabilities.
He stated that the government continues to focus on creating an enabling ecosystem for investment, innovation, sustainability and long-term growth.
He assured that issues raised by the industry are duly noted and would be suitably taken up with ministries concerned.
The roundtable was attended by more than 100 delegates from the chemical industry from across the world. The representatives of BASF, Tronox, ExxonMobil, Fujifilm, Lubrizol, Dow Chemicals, UPL, Reliance, DCM Shriram, HMEL, SABIC, and Haldia Petrochemicals were present amongst others.
During the interaction, industry leaders highlighted several issues critical to the long-term competitiveness and growth of the sector, the statement said.
The industry representatives demanded that large-scale investments should be facilitated through appropriate financing and investment-support mechanisms, particularly for capital-intensive upstream projects.
The industry also pitched for trade remedial measures to provide a level-playing field to ensure protection against unfair trade practices.
It sought greater support for R&D, innovation and technology development.
To attract global talent from abroad, the industry said that special tax breaks should be offered as done in countries like China, Japan and the UK.
A sovereign fund should be formed to facilitate technology acquisition on the lines of South Korea and the USA.
The industry also recommended that there should be time-bound single-window clearances for chemical and petrochemical projects.
It also suggested a comprehensive national feedstock policy to reduce vulnerability to geopolitical and global supply-chain disruptions, the statement said.
