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Fuelled by growth in sectors like real estate, infrastructure, retail, automotive and food & beverages, the country's glass industry will acquire a market size worth Rs 340 billion by 2015 from Rs 225 billion at present, according to a study by industry body Assocham.
"Indian glass market is estimated to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% over the next three years. The glass consumption growth is expected in construction (10-12%), automotive (20), consumer goods (15-20) and pharmaceuticals (15-18) sectors," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.
The organised glass sector is dominated by large players like ASAHI Glass India Ltd, Hindustan National Glass & Industries ltd, Piramal Glass, Saint-Gobain India, HSIL, Owen Corning, Triveni Glass, Borosil, Nippon Electric glass, Gujarat Borosil and Sezal Glass.
The organised glass industry employs 30 lakh people directly and provides indirect employment to 5 lakh people whereas the unorganised sector employs around 5-6 lakh people.
Moreover, 70% of the total glass production in the unorganised sector in India is contributed by Firozabad glass industry, which is India's biggest glass cluster.
About 75% of the total glass industries are concentrated in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
The highest share in the number of factories of the glass industry is Uttar Pradesh with a share of 36.9%, followed by Gujarat at 15%, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu at 5.6% and Karnataka with 4%.
The highest employment in the glass industry is in Gujarat followed by Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
The per capita glass usage in India is 1.2 kg compared with 8-9 kg in developed countries and 30-35 kg in the US, the study found.
The major export destinations of the glass industry are the US, China, Brazil and Germany. The countries from which the glass industry mainly imports are China followed by USA and Germany.
