By: Rahul Koul
Last updated : May 14, 2025 3:01 pm
With the right mix of policy support, industrial capability and environmental consciousness, Gujarat is well on course to evolve from India’s chemical heartland into a globally competitive chemical powerhouse
Gujarat is fast emerging as the nucleus of India’s chemical ambitions, leveraging its natural advantages, policy vision, and industrial muscle to position itself as a global hub. Already contributing nearly 30% to India’s total chemical production and more than 50% to its petrochemical output, the state stands out as the country's undisputed chemical stronghold. With over 450 chemical clusters and 16 notified industrial estates, Gujarat’s manufacturing and export infrastructure is among the most mature in the country.
To deliberate upon Gujarat's huge potential in chemicals, the industry leaders, experts and other stakeholders gathered in the industrial city of Baruch in Gujarat on May 07-10, 2025 at the maiden edition of Chem & Petchem Conference 2025. Organized by the Indian Chemical News, the event was themed 'Viksit Gujarat: Visit Bharat@2047’.
The inaugural session, 'Transforming Gujarat to become Global Chemical Hub' was moderated by Pravin Prashant, Executive Editor, Indian Chemical News who in his welcome address also shared an overview of the event and its relevance for the chemical industry in India and Gujarat.
Speakers at the inaugural session spoke on current status and future direction of the chemical industry in Gujarat and India.
Dr Sangeeta Srivastava, Executive Director, Godavari Biorefineries
"The Indian chemical industry ranks 6th in terms of chemical production globally and supports our national economy substantially. Among the key growth drivers are domestic demand including the fast changing consumer behavior. About 2 million people are employed by the sector and it has exposure to 175 countries. As per reports, we will be tripling our current growth. Approximately 47% of India's chemical exports come from Gujarat and the state is now focusing majorly on sustainability and inclusivity. Gujarat has many advantages as one of India's key states with chemical hubs. Infrastructure development has been a cornerstone of this transformation. Dahej PCPIR and mega chemical parks in Bharuch, Ahmedabad, Vapi and Ankleshwar are fast emerging as chemical hubs. Also, sustainability and innovation are becoming integral to Gujarat’s growth narrative. The state government has been supportive of the industry. Going forward, the state needs holistic development and collaborations. Biomass can provide a lot of sustainable solutions and all the stakeholders need to come together to ensure the transition towards bio-based products. We need better long-term policies, practical technologies and real life scenarios for the ecosystem to grow.”
Vishal Sharma, Executive Director & CEO, Godrej Industries (Chemicals)
"We have to make the naysayers understand that the chemicals are the mother of all the materials. Be it lesser or far more hazardous ones, the chemicals come in all shapes and sizes but are necessary. We need to emphasise the importance of these facts to the younger generation. Gender diversity is another area that requires attention as currently we have a lot of misconceptions and societal issues that lead to lesser participation of women. At our company, we have achieved 20% of women employment including 10% at factory level which we have achieved from 30% less than 3 years ago. Industry has to make it happen as it will not by itself. One challenge we must tackle is the lack of unicorns and startups in India otherwise we won't be able to achieve the goal of US$ 1 trillion. In terms of total engineers we have 0.8% chemical engineers, meaning just 11,000 chemical engineers out of 15 lakh which is far too lesser than required. Many colleges have shut the courses due to the lack of interest from the students.Going forward, there has to be the motivation from the young generation or else industry will shrink rather than growing. Treating talent rightly and investing into R&D and infrastructure needs immediate attention. Entrepreneurs must be helped with the right environment and quick approvals.”
Prakash Raman, Managing Director, Silox India
"Close to 2 crore people are employed by the chemical industry out of which 10 lakh employees directly and about 1.5 crore indirectly. We are looking at close to US$ 60-65 billion investment by 2030, leading to additional employment generation for 5 lakh people. One of the key challenges is how do we keep the structure of the industry intact in this growth phase. Also, the need for highly skilled human resources, regulatory compliances and pollution caused by the industry are other few key challenges. We need to establish an environment compliant system to remove the negative image of the industry. We need to have a cluster based approach for SSI chemicals. We need to have the best benchmarking based on global experiences. In terms of how Gujarat is doing, be it Surat economic region, Baruch, Jhagadia and Dahej PCPIRs, all of these have advantages such as water, power, road expressways and being closer to ports. Because of it, the region is getting increased traction and the logistics are being set up fast. Gujarat has a nice composition of small, medium and large industries. While big players are contributing their part, the mid and small ones too play a crucial role in active pharma ingredients, agrochemicals, dyes and pigment among other segments. There is a growing focus on green hydrogen, and battery chemicals."
Ashok Amarlal Panjwani, Executive Director, UPL
"The economic footprint of Gujarat’s chemical sector is substantial. The state currently accounts for approximately 35% of India’s total chemical exports. This strong export orientation, backed by world-class port connectivity and integrated logistics, gives Gujarat a compelling edge. At the same time, we have to change the negative public perception about the chemical industry. Contrary to the perception that India produces more chemicals due to its huge population, our country produces just 3.4% of chemicals globally. Even the smaller countries like Belgium, Singapore, and Brazil are manufacturing and exporting much more than us. Hence, there is a huge need to break the silos and work together collectively as an industry to find the ways to improve the perception levels. In terms of how Gujarat is creating a value for the Indian chemical industry is that the state has a significant 50-55% contribution to the overall export. The economic footprint of Gujarat’s chemical sector is substantial. This strong export orientation, backed by world-class port connectivity and integrated logistics, gives Gujarat a compelling edge.Infrastructure development has been a cornerstone of this transformation. The PCPIR at Dahej and chemical parks in Bharuch and Ankleshwar need bigger investments. Learning from global case studies, we must also improve our research and development, skill development and industry academia collaborations both at state and national levels."
Sanath Kumar Muppirala, Executive President & Whole Time Director, Gujarat Fluorochemicals
"Earlier there was hardly any industry where chemical engineers could find employment other than the major companies or public sector units. Compared to now we have a huge chemical industry now with hubs in Vapi and other places. The chemical industry is undergoing technology integration at a rapid pace and there is a growing focus on process safety including environmental compliances. We are still not being able to utilise the natural gas properly due to lack of proper conservation technology. Oil to chemical is the biggest breakthrough now and so are the bio based chemicals. The absorption of the technology and development of viable alternate energy means such as steam and nitrogen have to be explored. Making ethylene and propylene couldn't get expected traction and certain products couldn't get matured due to current challenges. Chlorine is another product that needs to be utilised regularly and can' be stored. We need in smaller portions in the processes but we can't scale it up. We don't have right kind of leverage to produce the hazardous chemicals in a viable way and therefore, must look at ways to build a network in these areas. Adoption of AI tools and digitalisation is a challenge that needs one of the upcoming opportunities is being looked at in the semiconductor and battery. These have even bigger stringent requirements. We are now looking at from parts per million (ppm) to parts per trillion (ppt) and to do an analysis, we need to established methodology.”
Prof. V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor, Somaiya Vidyavihar University
"Gujarat is a very strategic location for the chemical industry. Even the Prime minister has been referring to the state's ports, ready infrastructure and connectivity. At the same time, while policy support and skilled labour is there, we need to strengthen the ITIs and the polytechnics in terms of upgrading these and thus help provide the skilled workforce to the industry. Many universities are ready to fund the scholarships for the students but there has to be the right environment for that. There are already examples such as Indian Institute of Science and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research being sponsored by the private industry, we can learn from chemical hubs in Singapore and Germany. The participation of Industry could make significant contributions towards their skill development in higher education. Now up to 40% credits can be earned from the industry experiences. Professor of practice is another area that can help in building closer industry-academic collaborations. Government support might not be direct but schemes funded by the National Anusandan Research Foundation, National Hydrogen and Ammonia Mission could help in bridging the gaps. In terms of R&D, we are now looking at nature inspired or bio inspired systems, chemicals and polymers. Together we have to bring back the glory of chemicals.”
Gujarat Chem & Petchem Conference 2025 witnessed massive attendance by leading industry experts and stakeholders across Gujarat and India. The 2-day event witnessed over 75 speakers discussing the latest trends of the chemical industry through panel discussions and presentations.
The conference was supported by Academia partner - Somaiya Vidyavihar University; Platinum partners - PremierTech Systems & Automation, ABB India, and Netradyne; Gold partners - Tvarit GmbH (Germany), SNF Flopam India, Alleima India, AMETEK Land Instruments International, BEIL, UPL University of Sustainable Technology, Forbes Marshall, Utthunga, Graphite India, Thermax, Gem Machinery & Allied Industries and Thermax; Associate partners - Diyani Automation, Flaminia Ecarb India, LAPP, Goodrich Gasket, and GD Waldner; Industry Association partners - Gujarat Chemical Association (GCA), Jhagadia Industries Association (JIA), Dahej Industries Association (DIA) and Alkali Manufacturers Association of India (AMAI).