The government plans to promote mega chemical industrial estates with comprehensive infrastructure facilities including effluent treatment complexes in order to contain and efficiently manage the environmental impact of large chemical and petrochemical plants, Pratyush Sinha, secretary, chemicals and petrochemicals (C&PC), said.
Speaking at a workshop on 'Rejuvenation of Indian chemical industry' organised by Indian Chemical Manufacturers Association in Mumbai, Sinha said, "The chemical and petrochemical industry needs to concentrate on collaborations for cluster development in order to reduce the infrastructure cost and to improve proximity to the suppliers. The industry would gain from the creation of mega-chemical industrial estates."
Indian market in the chemical sector is estimated at $30-billion and accounts for about 14 per cent of total exports of the country. It ranks twelfth in volume terms in the world production of various chemical products.
Sinha added, "The new economy is rightly characterised by an extreme concern for the environment -- both during the process of production and the impact that the products have on environment during their usage."
The spate of international conventions banning or severely restricting the production and movement of such traditional products that have a heavier environmental load are giving way to newer non-polluting, including bio-based, products.
According to Sinha, the petrochemical industry is facing severe obstacles such as absence of world-class infrastructure, high power tariffs, scarcity of capital and low investments in research and development.
"Petrochemical industry needs to focus on all these and also on the promotion of plasticulture, and its application in water management, irrigation and agriculture, apart from domestic consumer goods," Sinha said.
Indian companies are still small players in the area of discovery of new molecules as there is an element of high cost involved, Sinha said, while adding that there is a need for more commitment towards research and development, especially given the large base of technical manpower available in the country.
"Though there is high cost involved, if we want to be a global player then our strength in chemistry will have to be harnessed to go beyond developing cost-effective manufacturing processes. Our scientific laboratories are in collaborative research with world's leading companies. Some of the latter are setting up research and development facilities in the country," Sinha added.
The present thrust of research is driven by the urgent need to face the challenges posed by the provisions of WTO and TRIPS. The chemical industry needs to gear up to face the challenges of this regime, he said.
