Chemicals industry need policy intervention, says Gowda
India has called for support from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) for its chemicals industry with international best practices and policy and technical assistance and help it to grow to $304 billion by 2025.
Making the call, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda informed an industry dialogue that the industry was set to grow 9% per annum by 2025, up from its value of US$178 billion in 2019.
Achieving such ambitious growth targets, the industry will require a combination of policy intervention, company-level initiatives, industry-academic partnerships, wise investments, and greater international access, he told the ‘National Dialogue on Manufacturing Excellence and Innovation for Competitiveness and Sustainability of Chemicals Manufacturing’ held virtually in New Delhi on 6 Apr 2021.
The chemical sector, which is knowledge- and capital-intensive, is the mainstay of industrial and agricultural development, and provides building blocks for downstream industries such as textiles, papers, paints, soaps, detergents, and pharmaceuticals, among others, he said.
“The fertilizer and agrochemical industries ensure food security, and are thus vital to India’s developing and agrarian economy. Likewise, the synthetic fiber industry is crucial to providing affordable clothing, and the pharmaceutical industry gives the country’s vast population access to low-cost drugs,” said the Minister.
Gowda said, “Our domestic industry and investors are feeling much more confident and optimistic in spite of an uncertain global situation and pandemic like COVID-19. He urged that Indian companies and chemical industries should take advantage of this opportunity and bring about structural changes in the chemical industry.”
The Minister was confident that the Indian scientists, policy makers, farmers, MSMEs, entrepreneurs and industry leaders would make India the manufacturing hub, ensuring that the country manufactures products which are ‘Made in India’ but are ‘Made for the World’.
The UNIDO organised a dialogue under ‘Clean Manufacturing in India’ (Swachh Udyog) and hosted National Dialogue on ‘Excellence and Innovation for Competitive and Sustainable Chemicals Manufacturing in India’.
The dialogue discussed opportunities and challenges for chemical manufacturing growth and garner momentum among policy makers, industry sector and other stakeholders on need for knowledge and skill-based transformative change to safeguard and future proof chemicals manufacturing in India.
UNIDO, a specialized agency of the United Nations, promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability. #manufacturing #investment #production #makeinindia #agriculture /fiinews.com
