Godrej Industries Group (GIG) brought together senior leaders from across the chemical industry for the third edition of the National Chemistry Day Summit, with the sector’s ability to navigate disruption, accelerate innovation and build for the future taking centre stage.
Held under the theme “Staying Resilient in a New Age World,” the summit was jointly organised by GIG companies Godrej Industries (Chemicals) and Astec LifeSciences. The event examined how India’s chemical industry can move beyond reacting to rapid change and instead anticipate disruption, strengthen capabilities and create long-term value.
The industry is undergoing a major transformation as shifting market dynamics, evolving supply chains, technological disruption and growing sustainability pressures reshape business models and competitive priorities.
Addressing the summit, Vishal Sharma, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer, Godrej Industries (Chemicals) and Chairperson, Astec LifeSciences, said: "Resilience today is no longer just about managing disruption; it is about anticipating and being prepared for what comes next. As our industry navigates geopolitical uncertainty, evolving customer needs, and a rapidly changing environment, agility will define the winners. But no company can build that future alone.
"In the chemical industry, each of us is simultaneously a competitor, a supplier, and a customer. If we want to take this industry forward in the right direction for India, we must move beyond operating only as individual companies and work together as the Chemical industry. That is the spirit behind National Chemistry Day and our commitment to building it as a permanent platform for collaboration. Together, we can create an industry that is more innovative, more agile, more sustainable, and most importantly, future ready and resilient.”
The first panel, “Resilience Beyond the Enterprise: Building a Future-Ready Chemical Industry,” brought together Murali Krishna Duvvuri, Senior Managing Director, Life Sciences, Asia and Region India, Croda; Alexander Gerding, Managing Director, BASF India; and Bankim Patra, Country Head (Lubes), Indian Oil Corporation Limited. The session was moderated by Sharma.
The discussion underscored the need for deeper integration across India’s chemical value chain. Stronger technology and R&D partnerships, enabling infrastructure and policy support, greater collaboration and faster project execution emerged as critical priorities.
The message was clear: building a globally competitive chemical industry will require an ecosystem capable of supporting investment, innovation and scale—not just stronger individual companies.
The second panel, “Resilience for the Enterprise: Driving Growth, Competitiveness, and Agility in a Changing Market,” focused on how businesses can strengthen their own ability to respond to rapidly changing markets.
Moderated by Sandeep Arora, Chief Commercial Officer, Godrej Industries (Chemicals), the session featured Raj Tiwari, CEO, SUPERFORM and Whole-time Director, UPL Limited; Ajith Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, Birla Opus; and Vimal Bhola, Co-founder and Chief R&D Scientist, Innovist, formerly Onesto Labs.
The discussion highlighted people, product strength and customer understanding as central to organisational resilience. Talent development, long-term business design, customer-centricity and faster innovation were identified as critical to staying competitive, while businesses also grapple with the need to balance immediate execution with sustained investment in long-term R&D.
The summit also turned its focus to two forces expected to shape the chemical industry’s next decade: artificial intelligence and talent.
A session titled “Preparing for the Next Decade: AI in the Chemical Industry” featured a keynote by Sambit Patra, Senior Partner, Chemicals Practice, Bain & Company.
Meanwhile, a fireside chat on “The Talent Imperative: Attracting, Developing, and Retaining Talent in a Rapidly Evolving Chemical Industry” featured Shefali Kohli, CHRO, Global Chemicals, Fashion Yarn and Insulators, Aditya Birla Group, and Poonam Burman, Chief Human Resource Officer, Godrej Industries (Chemicals).
Across the sessions, the summit highlighted three defining priorities for the sector: the transition toward green chemistry, the growing impact of AI, and the race to attract and develop the talent needed to power the industry’s next phase of growth.
The third edition of National Chemistry Day thus positioned resilience not simply as a response to disruption, but as a broader industry imperative—one built on collaboration, innovation, agility and the ability to prepare for what comes next.
