 "Ananth Kumar inaugurating the India Chem 2016 event in Mumbai")
Petroleum, Chemicals & Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIRs) policy launched in 2007 to promote investment in petroleum and petrochemical sector, needs fine tuning to make it more pragmatic and practical, according to Ananth Kumar, Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers.
Industry, especially the downstream sectors that require petrochemicals as raw materials for production, has been raising the issue of shortage of feedstock in the country. Touted as game-changer for Indian chemical and petrochemicals industry, the PCPIR policy was launch with an aim to attract investments worth around $ 100 billion in these regions. PCPIRs were to be formed specifically to attract investments for establishing production facilities for petroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals. However, the policy has failed to deliver desired results. Of the five approved PCPIRs, only Dahej (Gujarat) PCPIR has made considerable progress, while rest have failed to take off.
Addressing the inaugural function of India Chem 2016 yesterday, Ananth Kumar requested the industry leaders and experts to offer suggestions over the next one month to make the policy more vibrant. “India’s long coastline, large refining capacity and a satisfactory R&D capacity are the strengths for the growth of the chemical industry, but observed that ease of doing business still needs to improve further. Imports from China and South East Asia continue to dominate, as raw material cost and availability pose challenges for domestic businesses,” he added.
The Indian chemical industry is expected to grow at 9 percent annually to become a $ 226 billion sector by 2020 from current $ 147 billion, driven by growth in end-use industries and government initiatives.
Asserting that Make In India campaign is the key driver for the chemical industry as there exist opportunity for import substitution in many petrochemical derivatives, Ananth Kumar said, “Implementation of GST would bring manufacturing costs down, thus making Indian products competitive.”
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Indian chemical industry employs nearly 2 million people, requires 8.5 lakh skilled technicians. However, the Minister lamented that current infrastructure to impart skill training is inadequate, as a result most of the training is taking place on site.
In a bid address the issue of skill development, the government is planning to set up Central Institute of Chemical Engineering & Technology at different locations where the chemical industry has significant presence. The first such institute will come up in Mumbai, announced the Minister.
India Chem is jointly organised by the Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals and FICCI.
