DV Sadananda Gowda, Minister, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers virtually addressed at ‘National Dialogue on Manufacturing Excellence and Innovation for Competitiveness and Sustainability of Chemicals Manufacturing’ in New Delhi.

Gowda said that the chemicals and petrochemicals sector will play an important role in achieving the goal of 5 trillion-dollar economy. The Minister informed that the Indian chemicals industry stood at $ 178 Bn in 2019 and is expected to reach $ 304 Bn by 2025 and the demand for chemicals is expected to expand by 9 per cent per annum by 2025. Achieving the industry’s ambitious growth targets will require a combination of policy intervention, company-level initiatives, industry-academic partnerships, wise investments, and greater international access, he added. The minister hoped that United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) will support domestic industry with international best practices and policy & technical assistance.

The Minister informed that in our country, the chemical industry occupies a pivotal position in meeting basic needs and improving quality of life as well. The chemical sector, which is knowledge- and capital-intensive, is the mainstay of industrial and agricultural development, and provides building blocks for downstream industries such as textiles, papers, paints, soaps, detergents, and pharmaceuticals, among others. The fertilizer and agrochemical industries ensure food security, and are thus vital to India’s developing and agrarian economy. Likewise, the synthetic fiber industry is crucial to providing affordable clothing, and the pharmaceutical industry gives the country’s vast population access to low-cost drugs, he added.

The Minister said that today, our domestic industry and investors are feeling much more confident and optimistic in spite of an uncertain global situation and pandemic like COVID-19.  He urged that Indian companies and chemical industries should take advantage of this opportunity and bring about structural changes in the chemical industry. The Minister expressed his confidence in Indian scientists, policy makers, farmers, MSMEs and entrepreneurs and industry leaders for making India the manufacturing hub, ensuring that the country manufactures products which are ‘Made in India’ but are ‘Made for the World’.

The Minister thanked UNIDO for taking the initiative for raising dialogue on transforming the chemical industry sector of India into a more efficient, effective and competitive ‘growth engine’.

UNIDO organised a dialogue under ‘Clean Manufacturing in India’ (Swachh Udyog) and hosted National Dialogue on ‘Excellence and Innovation for Competitive and Sustainable Chemicals Manufacturing in India’. The dialogue discussed opportunities and challenges for chemical manufacturing growth and garner momentum among policy makers, industry sector and other stakeholders on need for knowledge and skill-based transformative change to safeguard and future proof chemicals manufacturing in India. UNIDO is the specialised agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability. During the virtual session, secretary, representatives of UNIDO and senior officials from the ministry were present.