Nadda: Govt Focused on Boosting Chemical Sector Investment, Expanding Domestic Manufacturing
Government seeks higher investment, stronger manufacturing, technology development and policy support to expand India’s chemicals and petrochemicals industry.
NEW DELHI, Aug 24: Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister J P Nadda on Monday said the government is working to create a favourable ecosystem for investment, innovation and manufacturing as India aims to expand its chemicals sector to USD 1 trillion by 2040.
Nadda made the remarks while chairing a CEO roundtable focused on India’s ambition of building a USD 1 trillion chemicals sector over the next 14 years. The meeting was organised by the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers in collaboration with Invest India.
The minister stressed the importance of sustained investment, technological advancement and stronger domestic manufacturing capacity to achieve the sector’s long-term growth target.
He said the government is committed to maintaining a continuous and institutionalised dialogue with industry stakeholders to identify challenges and convert their recommendations into time bound action.
Nadda also assured industry representatives that the concerns raised during the meeting had been noted and would be taken up with the ministries concerned.
More than 100 delegates from the domestic and global chemical industry participated in the roundtable. Representatives from major companies, including BASF, Tronox, ExxonMobil, Fujifilm, Lubrizol, Dow Chemicals, UPL, Reliance, DCM Shriram, HMEL, SABIC and Haldia Petrochemicals, attended the discussions.
Industry leaders highlighted several measures they said would be essential for improving the competitiveness and expanding the capacity of India’s chemical and petrochemical industries.
Participants called for suitable financing and investment support mechanisms to encourage large-scale projects, particularly capital intensive upstream developments.
The industry also sought stronger trade remedial measures to create a level playing field and safeguard domestic producers from unfair trade practices.
Greater government support for research and development, innovation and technology development was another key demand raised during the discussions.
Industry representatives suggested introducing special tax incentives to attract global talent to India, citing measures adopted by countries such as China, Japan and the UK.
They also proposed the creation of a sovereign fund to support technology acquisition, taking inspiration from initiatives in South Korea and the United States.
The industry further recommended time bound single window clearances for chemical and petrochemical projects to reduce delays and improve the ease of doing business.
A comprehensive national feedstock policy was also proposed to strengthen supply security and reduce the industry’s exposure to geopolitical uncertainties and disruptions in global supply chains.
The government industry dialogue comes as India seeks to expand domestic production, attract fresh capital and strengthen its position in global chemical value chains.
