Indian government looks to cut down imports of chemicals

The Indian government is planning to boost domestic production of chemicals and petrochemicals to cut down imports and make India a manufacturing hub for the sector, said Mr. P. Raghavendra Rao, Secretary, Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, while addressing an event organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Net imports of chemicals and petro chemicals touched a whopping Rs. 1.21 lakh-crore in 2018-19 and could touch Rs. 3 lakh-crore in the next five years, he said and added that there is a need to increase the capacity utilisation in the industry from the current level of 75-80% and cut unnecessary imports.

He expressed concerns over imports of chemicals in the unknown ‘other’ categories and said the government is providing specific codes to regulate inward shipments. “India should become a manufacturing hub of chemicals and petrochemicals. We are focusing on that,” he said.

The government wants factories to come up in a cluster so that it could provide all infrastructure facilities at one place, the secretary said. The ministry is also working towards attract investments in this sector.