By: ICN Bureau
Last updated : March 02, 2023 10:35 am
India has been a global outperformer in demand growth in the chemical sector over the last decade
Indian chemical industry is expected to touch US $300 billion by 2025 and reach US $1 trillion mark by 2040.
“Currently valued at around US $220 billion, the Indian chemical industry is expected to touch US $300 billion by 2025 and reach US $1 trillion mark by 2040. It is predicted that demand for the speciality chemical segment is expected to grow at a pace of over 15% CAGR. With 100% FDI allowed through the automatic route and tremendous headroom for growth, the Indian chemical sector is well positioned for receiving large FDIs from global MNCs," said Arun Baroka, Secretary, Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Govt. of India while addressing the 16th Annual India Chemical Industry Outlook Conference and Exhibition in Mumbai yesterday. The Conference is organised by Indian Chemical Council (ICC).
Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Srikar K Reddy, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Govt. of India, said, "The recent CEPA with UAE will boost the Indian Chemical Trade. The CEPA is expected to increase the bilateral trade in goods to US $100 billion within five years of the signing and increase trade in services to US $15 billion."
Nikhil Meswani, Executive Director, Reliance Industries stressed on sustainability. He also outlined the importance of the responsible growth of the chemical industry with specific focus on oil to chemicals (O2C).
Erik Fyrwald, CEO, Syngenta spoke about how MNCs are shaping their ‘Global Play’ and Chris Musso of McKinsey & Co., USA spoke on the ‘Global Chemicals scenario’ and how it is inter-linked with an emerging economy like India.
Key features of the two-day conference included the “Model Factory in A Box”, a tabletop factory demonstration presented by McKinsey, showcasing its unique offerings in capability building.
ICC also released a white paper titled ‘India: The next chemicals manufacturing hub,’ with McKinsey & Company. The whitepaper presented the 2040 outlook for the Indian chemical industry and benchmarks for India’s manufacturing competitiveness versus other key global chemical clusters.
The whitepaper brought to light significant findings in potential challenges across various segments and the effective ways to tackle them. The report dwelled at length on the importance of global and local companies reflecting upon the resource allocation mix, the business model, and the overall business strategy. It also laid out winning opportunities for the Indian chemical industry to become the next chemicals manufacturing hub.
Along with the conference, an exhibition has also been organized to showcase the products and innovations in the chemical sector across various verticals.
Meanwhile, the ICC has entered into an MoU with the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) in order to establish a “Center of Excellence.” The two institutions have agreed to cooperate and work together on multiple levels to identify key R&D areas for immediate and future requirements with a focus on MSMEs.
Earlier, Bimal Goculdas, President, ICC and MD & CEO, DMCC Specialty Chemicals Ltd. while welcoming the participants, said that the current edition of the conference offers a unique opportunity for the industry.
More than 100 CEOs, 80 CXO level speakers, and 500 delegates from various parts of the world are attending the event.