By: Rahul Koul
Last updated : April 01, 2021 11:05 am
Being the world’s second-largest emerging market, India must partner with the EU which is playing a key role in chemical sector transformation
From being an importer to becoming one of the largest exporters of petrochemical products, the chemical industry in India has come a long way in the last 20 years says Prabh Das, Chairman, FICCI Petrochemicals Committee and MD & CEO, HPCL Mittal Energy Limited (HMEL) as he explains how India now has 23 refineries, 250 million tonnes capacity, which is largest after the USA, China and Russia.
“We are also having the third-largest retail outlet of petrochemical products only after the USA and China. Similarly, we have come a long way in the self-sufficiency of polypropylene and polyethylene,” adds Das.
Das believes that there is a lot of potential for European companies to make a foray into India. “India offers ready resources for capacity production besides a lot of other positives. Therefore, the time is ripe for global investors to come to India. Demand for chemicals is increasing between 7-9 percent while our domestic consumption is low. Among other factors, automation could help in boosting productivity and European Union has a significant role to play in this. Europe is a leader in the area and India has a lot of potential. Joint efforts will help in strengthening our position further. There is a lot of scope for specialty chemicals and engineering chemicals. European companies have got technologies and there is a good scope of the partnership.”
During FY 2019-20, the bilateral trade between the EU and India stood at US $104.93 billion as against US $115.6 billion in FY 2018-19. Being the world’s second-largest emerging market, India must partner with the EU which is playing a key role in chemical sector transformation, to bring green chemistry to the country.
As per Iris Herrmann, Partner, PwC, the Indian chemical industry, as well as key segments relevant for chemicals, delivered steady growth and are expected to continue growing (post-COVID) long-term.
Hermann said, "Key to foster growth is the Petroleum, Chemical, and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) clusters which are being refocused to attract investments. Dovetailing the PCPIRs with the National Infrastructure Pipeline could give a major push to overcome upfront capital investment needs.”
Sharing his views on the EU chemicals strategy for sustainability, Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union to India says, “Our industry is already working on the green transition. Science is alerting us to act on the areas that require attention. We need to develop new chemicals and materials that are safe and sustainable. The EU plays a key role in promoting safety and sustainability in chemicals. We consider India as an important partner in steps towards sustainability and tackling harmful chemicals for production and consumption. The joint declaration by India and EU looks at developing a bigger framework."
Peter Browning, President-GBU, Aroma Performance, Solvay (France) said, “We see India bringing access to many unique raw materials, particularly natural materials. We can see the world-class organic chemistry capacity India has built. There is a level of entrepreneurship, creative flexibility that characterize the Indian market. The open market and regulations and legal framework will support investments into the Indian market. There is a need to build sustainable value chains and industry norms. A stable policy environment and world-class products that can meet global standards across markets will accelerate the growth.”
Suresh Ramachandran, Country Head & Managing Director, Arkema India calls the next ten years a golden decade for chemicals in India. For that to happen, he says R&D, knowledge sharing, and business development centers would be the key.
“I think if India has to become a global chemical hub, the transition has to begin at the university level. We need to move from theoretical to practical as the world has moved in terms of digital progress. India has excellent research centers and what we require is bridge-building,” commented Ramachandran.
“From the Indian perspective, we have developed a fairly robust regulatory mechanism for addressing the chemical management largely and that also targets all the aspects of the chemical production and handling,” says Rahul Tikoo, MD - Huntsman International (India).
Raising the important issue of safety and sustainability, Tikoo adds, “As the chemical footprint of the industry in India grows bigger, our responsibilities are also becoming pertinent from the perspectives of ensuring that we protect before we proceed further. I firmly believe that we need to be cautious about addressing any load on the environmental footprint in India. For that, the regulatory policies must be framed in coordination with responsible chemical companies in India. There is a need for a central governing body and central policy for waste refining as smaller units struggle with waste management and emissions.”