February 09, 2025

February 09, 2025

February 09, 2025

February 09, 2025

February 09, 2025

We are holding almost 75% of packaging market share in the fertilizer industry in India.

February 06, 2025

In an interview with Indian Chemical News, Srinivas K Karavadi, President, INERA (Absolute Group), shares his perspective on making farming more sustainable and boosting productivity for farmers:   

How do you foresee the evolution of crop science impacting agriculture globally?

We're seeing crops become more resilient to extreme weather, diseases, and pests. This means farmers can produce more food with fewer resources, which is crucial as the global population continues to grow. New ag technologies are opening up exciting possibilities, making farming more efficient and sustainable. Ultimately, these advancements will help ensure food security and support livelihoods across different regions.

How does INERA fit into the broader agricultural research landscape in India?

INERA is playing a pivotal role in India's agricultural research scene. While agri research has been around for a long time, there's still a significant gap compared to industries like pharma. We're bridging that gap by bringing cutting-edge products to the table. Our extensive field trials across diverse agro-climatic zones—the largest of their kind in India—showcase our commitment to innovation. By collaborating with farmers, farmer groups, universities, and research institutions, we’re pushing the boundaries of what's possible in sustainable agriculture. Our focus on biological inputs sets us apart, and we're dedicated to driving innovation that directly benefits Indian farmers by improving their crop productivity and resilience.

What are some of the most innovative research projects currently underway at INERA?

We have a lot of exciting projects in the pipeline. For instance, we're developing biocontrols specifically designed to tackle pests like thrips and other emerging threats. We're also working on complementing alternatives to traditional fertilizers like Urea and DAP—products like PHYRO M P, which mobilizes essential nutrients and improves soil health. Additionally, our biostimulants are tailored to address specific crop needs, enhancing growth and resilience. All these products undergo rigorous field trials to ensure they solve specific problems effectively. Plus, we're continuously refining our MSC and UHRS technologies to make our products even more stable and efficient in the field.

What role does biotechnology play in your crop development programs?

Biotechnology is at the heart of everything we do at INERA. It allows us to enhance and improve microbial strains, making them more effective in supporting plant growth and stress resistance. We use proprietary technologies to optimize these microbes and develop precision enzymes through our BCIT platform. Biotechnology also enables us to explore and harness the potential of various microorganisms, peptides, and small molecules, ensuring our products are both innovative and highly effective.

Would you like to share recent breakthroughs in crop improvement or sustainable practices from INERA?

Recently, we introduced PHYRO M P, support farmers during the shortages of phospatic fertlisers, especially DAP that mobilizes essential nutrients and significantly improves soil health. This product not only enhances crop growth but also strengthens the soil's structure. Additionally, we're working on several other products that are set to launch in the coming months, each designed to address specific agricultural challenges. For example, our enhanced MSC encapsulation technology has extended the shelf life of our biological inputs, making them more reliable even in harsh conditions. These advancements are helping us push the boundaries of sustainable agriculture and provide farmers with the tools they need to succeed.

How does INERA collaborate with local farmers, communities, and other organizations and benefit them?

Collaboration is key for us at INERA. We work directly with local farmer groups to showcase the results of our products through farmer demos, comparing them against traditional practices and competitor products. This hands-on approach helps farmers see the benefits firsthand. We also organize training sessions and workshops to educate farmers on how to get the most out of our bio-inputs, ensuring they meet successful metrics like increased yield and improved soil health. By partnering with local communities, we understand their regional crop needs, making our products both effective and accessible. Additionally, our collaborations with research institutions keep us at the forefront of agricultural innovation, providing farmers with the latest and most effective solutions for their fields.

What are some of the biggest challenges facing crop science today, and how is INERA addressing them?

Crop science today faces several major hurdles, including climate change, soil degradation, and pest resistance. At INERA, we're tackling these challenges head-on with our innovative products and solutions. Our STREAC technology helps plants withstand extreme weather and other stressors, while our biofertilizers improve soil health and structure to combat degradation. When it comes to pests, our biocontrols offer sustainable solutions that reduce resistance and environmental impact. Additionally, we're addressing issues like the stability and shelf life of bio-inputs with our MSC technology and improving application efficiency with UHRS, ensuring our solutions are both effective and farmer-friendly. At our core, our products are designed to address climate change, pest resistance, and delivery mechanisms, making agriculture more resilient and sustainable.

How would you explain INERA integrating technology in its research and farming solutions?

Integrating technology is a big part of what makes INERA stand out. We’ve developed our own AI discovery platform, the Nature Intelligence Platform (NIP), which helps us explore and identify the best microorganisms for our products. Our biotech platforms focus on improving formulation and efficacy, ensuring our products work seamlessly in the field. Technologies like STREAC, MSC, UHRS, and BCIT are all tech-driven solutions designed to enhance crop performance and sustainability. We also leverage data analytics to optimize our formulations and predict how they’ll perform in different environments. On the delivery side, our UHRS technology ensures our products are applied efficiently and retained effectively in the field. By blending cutting-edge research with practical farming solutions, we make sure our innovations truly benefit the farmers.

What are the future goals for INERA in the next 5 to 10 years?

Over the next 5 to 10 years, we aim to reach millions of farmers globally, creating an uplifted agricultural economy. We plan to expand our product portfolio with more specialized bio-inputs tailored to different crops and regions. While strengthening our Indian market presence, Global market penetration will remain a big focus—we want farmers around the world to benefit from our solutions. Technologically, we’re committed to continuously refining our proprietary technologies and scaling up our manufacturing capabilities to meet growing demand. Sustainability will remain a key focus, as we strive to further reduce our carbon footprint and promote regenerative agricultural practices. We also aim to strengthen our collaborations with research institutions and educational bodies, ensuring we stay at the forefront of agricultural innovation. Ultimately, our goal is to drive significant advancements in crop science, support sustainable farming globally, and help secure food for future generations.

February 04, 2025

In an exclusive interview with Pravin Prashant, Executive Editor, Indian Chemical News,  Dr. Volkar Fitzner, Global Chemicals Leader, PwC shared his views on the latest global trends

Global trends in the chemical industry that you foresee in 2025?

When we look at the future trends, there are various regional dynamics that come into the play. The European market has a sluggish growth and there is a high energy cost structure. There appear to be no improvements in sight as there are imports from China and it puts the pressure on the companies. Thus, it has become a stagnant market with the closing down of plants.

The market in the USA is growing along with the economy and the feedstock is cheaper as compared to Europe. With restructuring in Europe, people will be investing in the US sometimes without the IRA incentives. One interesting fact is that the production of steel is expensive in China and in the US, the steel market is underestimated. In the Middle East, they have cheap feedstock and a kind of dual strategy, going for gas production and focusing their investments into green chemicals. It is a combination of play and integration. Meanwhile, the African market has been a non-starter.

Asia Pacific is a growth market and much better than the US. We see a lot of investments and collaborations happening in the region. Apart from China, there are countries like India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Taiwan that present huge opportunities. With India being a market which is very much in focus now, a lot of foreign players, especially German companies are looking at collaboration. The country will benefit as more companies are looking at it as an alternative to China. 

How do you look at overall green hydrogen play globally?

There was more hype in the last couple of years and now when it comes to reality, the prices are too high and there is less commitment from off takers. The hydrogen transport structure is very expensive at the moment. It will be difficult to run it without infrastructure and incentives and overall government support. In terms of the action points, the demand should be addressed through contracts and pre-contracts. There must be concrete steps to build the infrastructure and bring down the cost of green electrolyzer to the extent that they are of bigger scale. Going forward, the viability gap funding is required to bridge the gaps.

Green hydrogen is meant for industrial use rather than household use. Currently, six million tonnes of hydrogen is being consumed annually in India. The green hydrogen has to substitute this hydrogen that is derived from gas. When you split methane, you get hydrogen and carbon dioxide and when you split water, you have hydrogen and oxygen. This from sustainability is more viable. Ethanol and biofuels are being looked at. Burning methane as compared to splitting methane has a cost difference due to electrolyzer availability and cost. It is a fuel of the future and has a fully recyclable process as compared to all other sustainable alternatives such EV.

PwC's sustainability report in Europe says that the chemicals industry will require cumulative investment in its net-zero transformation of between US $440 bn - US $1 tn through 2040 and between US $1.5 tn and US $3.3 tn through 2050? Where do you see this investment coming from? 

The report was commissioned in collaboration with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) to define the net zero pathway and what it will take to reach there. We calculated the carbon budget by 2050 to stay below 1.5 degrees. The research focused on the seven major base chemicals that account for 74% of the energy used in the chemicals industry and on the G20 markets which account for 97% of all energy-related chemicals industry emissions. Those seven chemicals are methanol, ammonia, benzene, toluene, and xylene as well as ethylene and propylene. Based on our calculations, we came up with the investment numbers.

What is the step by step process to achieve sustainability?

Creating an ecosystem is very important for sustainability but it is like a jigsaw puzzle. The best way is to create one and keep pushing as sustainability is a long term game and needs a lot of innovation and collaboration. The customization of products and backward integration of feedstock mostly oil and gas is also required. As we are aware, there are two forms of energy: One is direct feedstock from raw materials and second is sourcing it. For example, Shell provides basic raw material to BASF within a country, thus saving costs as compared to cross country collaborations. The best way is to either set up a manufacturing site near feedstock source or bring feedstock itself near to manufacturing set up.

What path should Indian chemical companies follow with respect to sustainability?

The route is not different from what is followed globally. They must play to their strength and build capacity through collaboration. In India, expansion and innovation is required. Unless you get that feedstock, India will remain processor or converter and in the middle of the value chain. If you are in the middle, you will encounter volatility that keeps happening in commodity chemicals and now in specialty chemicals where you have higher margins. Unless you get backwards which gives you a solid foundation and then you have to go forward towards the growth which means hyper personalization where the customer gets what he wants, same as in e-commerce.

How do you look at India coming up as the next manufacturing hub? What should we do to latch on to the opportunities?

India being the biggest market in Asia is expected to grow faster compared to Europe and the US. To get there, it needs to expand the scope for chemical R&D and do more collaboration with companies that are advanced in technologies. The collaborations don’t have to happen only between Indian companies but between Indian and international companies. In terms of developing India as a manufacturing hub, the global companies have a critical role to play because of the value it brings to the table. The manufacturing doesn’t have to be always by Indian companies but together. That’s the whole sustainability mantra.

Most of the companies across the world are looking at India but there are challenges related to land, tax, and better incentives. In our sustainability report, we emphasize the 3i model of the ecosystem in terms of innovation, integration, and incentives. Build innovation models for feedstocks, integration of supply chain, and government incentives for producing and setting up or viability gap funding.

January 28, 2025

January 28, 2025

In an exclusive interview with Pravin Prashant, Executive Editor, Indian Chemical News, Padma Shri Prof. (Dr.) G. D. Yadav, President, Indian Chemical Society & former Vice Chancellor, ICT, Mumbai unveils the idea behind organizing the mega show for celebrating 100 years of Indian chemical industry and his broader vision for growth of chemical industry. 

You have conceptualized a mega conference called ‘Century of Chemistry in India’ in Mumbai on January 28-29, 2025. What is the reason behind organizing this mega conference? 

The title of this conference is 'Chemistry at 100' and many will be wondering whether chemistry was not done before that, of course it was but it became a very nice science for all science graduates after the establishment of Indian Chemical Society (ICS) on May 9, 1924. Among those involved in formation of ICS were big names of that time such as Dr. J. N. Mukerjee, Dr. S. S. Bhatnagar, Dr. J. C. Ghosh, and Dr. Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray. The Society has just completed 100 years and we are celebrating this momentous occasion. 

The founding President of Indian Chemical Society, Dr. Acharya P. C. Ray was not only a very powerful professor but he had this so-called startup company, Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceutical. He also established the Indian Chemical Manufacturers Association, which is now called Indian Chemical Council (ICC) in 1938. So he had a lot of influence on chemistry and the chemical industry in India. Therefore, we chose this theme, Indian Chemistry at 100. We decided that we should have various conferences, our annual conference or convention of chemists. All this should have a theme that is the net zero goal and sustainability and role of chemical sciences in green energy, circular economy and prosperity of India. We also decided that this particular theme should not just be for one year. We started it on 9th of May 2023 and we will extend it till the end of this year so that people become aware of this. 

Why have you chosen this theme and what are the sub themes that you have planned in this conference?  

A lot of people do not have an idea about the chemical industry. They think of it as a polluting industry but that is not the case. The fact is that chemistry is life and life is chemistry and therefore we wanted to bring together all sectors of the economy, particularly related to chemicals and allied industries. For example, right from refinery to inorganic chemicals, inorganic polymers, pigments, dyes, materials, biochemicals, pharmaceuticals, drugs and other related chemical industries.  Since we are also talking about net zero in these, we wanted to have all these things taken together and be presented at the same time annually. 

We decided to create various categories of awards including lifetime achievements awards named after prominent Indian chemists, recognizing outstanding contributions in the field of chemical sciences. The idea behind it is to honor the heroes of chemistry, living in the last 100 years. We have both, who are no more with us and a few who are still among us. Based on the information we collected, we have created profiles in the form of a coffee table book. Since there are a few important names that might have been excluded due to non-receipt of information from respective organizations, we plan to publish another book. We also plan to organize another conference as a sequel to the current event. We can felicitate about 100 industrialists in the conference. 

Our chief guest for the event is West Bengal Governor, Dr. C. V. Ananda Bose. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis and our chief patron, Union Minister, Nitin Gadkari will be sharing their video messages. We are also giving chance to young industrialists to make presentations on what they plan to do to make Viksit Bharat by 2047. There are also many researchers who want to do the poster presentation and if they cannot afford it, I will give them free registration but I want them to come and see what is going on. 

How the response and what is the total number of delegates expected to join today's event? 

We expect more than 500 people at the venue which is Nehru Center, Worli in Mumbai. There are a lot of people who are still submitting their abstracts for posters and we are welcoming them because the idea is to promote chemistry and chemical sciences, engineering, and technology. One of the reasons why we are doing it this year is that the enrollment in chemistry courses or for that matter in chemical engineering and technology has gone down across the country and that is not a good sign. These days most of the parents want their kids to choose Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) besides all sorts of things related to computer science and engineering. However, they forget that chemical materials are required for all these industries and unless we grow at 24-25% in the manufacturing sector and 70% in the service sector, we will have no future. We are talking about a 30 trillion dollar economy by 2047 when India's population will be 1.67 billion. We need all sorts of professionals and all sorts of things must be encouraged. This is where the importance of this particular conference lies and I am hopeful that it will create awareness about the industry.   

How do you see India's contribution in the last 100 years with respect to chemistry? 

India has a very glorious history as far as the chemical industry is concerned. We started with bulk inorganic chemicals: soda, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, ammonia and all. While India has done real things, we should have done much more. For example, part production of fertilizers or methanol and importing them from abroad was a big mistake in India. India is looking at the year 2070 for its net zero goal but we should plan for much before that like the rest of the world. I believe it is not the net zero but net negative technology which is required for achieving the goal. We have added a lot of carbon in the atmosphere and therefore we have to worry about this so-called climate change. The chemical industry will help in containing climate change, giving us cheap renewable energy and at the same time, the circular economy. We have to look at it as the feedstock for making something. We need to refuse, repurpose, recycle, and reduce. 

What role did Indian Chemical Society play in it and your plans for the future? 

As an organization, Indian Chemical Society is one of the oldest in the country with a lot of powerful members across the institutions globally. We will felicitate our role models and then we will have industry awards. We have global fellowships, with five fellows from each of the leading countries. I must tell you that our journal, the Journal of Indian chemical society, is now published by Elsevier. In 2021, I signed an agreement with them and at that time our impact factor was 0.26. Now, it is 3.2 which is the highest among all Indian journals and it is not open access. It is subscription mode and this is another coincidence. 

I am proud to mention that Dr. Acharya P. C. Ray was the founding president and also Editor of the journal of Indian Chemical Society. 100 years later I am its 47th President and also Editor. Interestingly, I was recently awarded the Bhatnagar Fellowship and Dr. S. S. Bhatnagar was a founding member of this society. It is all a co-incident and that makes me a lucky person. We will have at least 100 college chapters and increase the industry fellowship because there are a lot of good chemists in industry. Our chemical engineers would like to have chapters in all IITs and Central funded Institutions. My biggest project is to establish a building for the Indian chemical society with the help of industry under corporate social responsibility, maybe over three years. It is my dream that will require Rs. 10 crore. 

In terms of the next 100 years, what are the 10 things that India should take up in a big way and leave a mark for the global chemical society? 

India should be a leader in energy, especially renewable energy as most of the industries require it. India's plan is that by 2030 it will reduce 45% of the carbon dioxide and have about 500 gigawatt. I believe we should produce more than that. The prediction is that by 2050, the world as a whole will require 49,000 terabyte hours of energy. I believe India should produce 20% of this and become an energy exporting nation. For that we should have a lot of incentive for industries whether it is solar panel, wind panel, or composites. All these industries require a PLI scheme that should be extended to this industry. Since we are talking about carbon negative, none of our energy sources should be from carbon based fuel. We can use thermal, nuclear, solar, wind or hydrogen. 

By 2054, we will not have any crude oil either due to high cost, maybe 200 dollars a barrel or other bio based technologies. We are talking about bio-economy which means having bio based feedstock from trees or purposefully grown plants. The green energy will be hydrogen because it is required everywhere. India has planned to have five million tons of hydrogen by 2030. I think we should target 7 million tonnes by 2030 and 10 million tonnes by 2035. The world as a whole in 2050, the hydrogen requirement will be anywhere between 540-830 million metric tonnes and India needs to be a leader in the hydrogen economy. 

The chemical vertical contributes 7% of India's GDP whereas it is 25% in some countries. How can we increase chemical contribution? 

There are a lot of definitions of chemical industries but we must also take the allied industries into consideration. Therefore, the contribution of the chemical industry in India is not less than 15%. Since chemicals are used in all sectors, we need to encourage greener production technologies and the special zones through government policy which must be to create a hub of the chemical industry. The Indian industry must spend a lot of money on R&D and it is the only way. In terms of CSR spending on higher education by the industry, the contribution should be 3% and not 2% on research, innovation, and technology development. Our higher academic institutions, be it private, government or elite institutions, should develop technology and share that Intellectual Property Right (IPR) with funding bodies who can use the technology.  

Also, the talk about banning single use plastic use is not a good idea because it is not the plastic that is polluting but humans who throw it away. If the plastic is de-polymerized and converted back into monomers or some other chemical, it is useful. Our policy should be having a refundable deposit. Whether it is a straw or milk pouch or anything else, all these should be refundable. Rather than banning, we can make the people responsible so that it is not going to the environment and block our gutters. Just like we sell old newspapers, there could be scrap-dealers for plastic to collect it. Interestingly, hydrogen becomes very important here because once you have mixed plastic, hydrogenation or hydrogenolysis can handle all these. One does not have to segregate plastic as any kind of it can be converted by using hydrogenolysis. I think India should take a lead by making favourable policies. We have to encourage our people as they are very innovative. There are about 180 unicorns in India, having a 365 billion dollar business. That means we have to have more unicorns in chemicals and that's when I believe we will have a 25% to 100% contribution to the GDP. 

How do we attract talent in Chemical engineering and Chemistry? 

We have to understand that whether it is mobile phone, laptop or TV, these all are made of products based on chemical materials and metals. There is a lot of talk about 5G and 6G but nobody is recognizing the fact that it is based on materials and those are produced by chemical synthesis and all. Whether it is a super-fast plane or the optical fibers, these are produced by the chemical industry. In this context, I have been advising my colleagues in all these higher educational institutes that the head of the department must love that profession and build awareness among students. Our educators must take up on themselves to tell the student that chemical engineering has a great future. The chemical engineering is actually the recycle engineering as everything has to be recycled otherwise we will require three more earths to survive. We need to have a circular economy which means everything becomes a feedstock and nothing is a waste.

January 26, 2025