Govt to introduce PLI in chemical & petrochemical; planning to redraft PCPIR policy guidelines: Bhagwanth Khuba

Sep 30, 2022

• Rationalization of customs duty & growth in demand to attract large scale investment in the sector

MUMBAI, 30 September 2022: Mr Bhagwanth Khuba, Minister of State, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers and Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Govt of India today said that the Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals will soon introduce PLI in chemical & petrochemical sector and will redraft the Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) guidelines.

He was addressing the Industry Meet on 'Indian Chemicals & Petrochemicals Industry and India Chem 2022' organized by FICCI and Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, GoI in Mumbai.

"The Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals intend to bring PLI and redrafting PCPIR guidelines as India aspires to become a global manufacturing hub for chemicals & petrochemicals and we have requested the industry to share their viewpoints so that the same can be fine-tuned further," said the Minister.

Assuring the industry of all possible support to boost the growth of the sector, Mr Khuba said, "We have started the process of addressing various issues involving other Ministries such as the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Environment."

"The department wants to institutionalize the process to conduct regular meetings by involving all the stakeholders to address the major issues of the industry. Enabling frameworks, providing proper infrastructure and trade related issues are among the major focus points of the Department," added Mr Khuba.

"Through PLI Schemes with an incentive outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore, Government of India has recently given a thrust to promote key end-use sectors such as pharmaceuticals, telecommunication & networking equipment, automobiles, electronics, mobiles, medical devices and textiles. This will further drive the demand for chemicals and petrochemicals in the country," Mr Khuba said.

According to Mr Khuba, "the tremendous growth in demand coupled with rationalization of customs duty will attract large scale investment in the sector. This additional production will support the entire chemical value chain in a big way. Starting from the raw materials to the finished goods, every single component in the value chain will see growth."

The Minister pointed out that the shifts of supply chain, rising sense of nationalism, accelerating commoditization, business integration and the rapid changes in the chemical industry are trends that have changed the industry dramatically. He also voiced the need for the industry and the government to join hands to achieve the desired growth in the sector.

"Initiatives such as Joint Ventures, Mergers & Acquisition will help us to bring the latest technology, sustainable solutions in the domestic market. The vision of our Hon'ble Prime Minister for 'Make in India', and the steps in this direction will help the Indian economy to grow," highlighted Mr Khuba.

Mr Susanta Kumar Purohit, Joint Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers highlighted the growth prospects of India's Chemicals and Petrochemicals Industry. "With strong growth drivers, this sector is set to grow faster than the global chemicals and petrochemicals industry," he asserted. He informed that an Industry Facilitation Cell has been set up in the Department in April 2022 where over 50 industry issues have been taken up and resolved till date.

Mr Deepak Mehta, Chairman, FICCI Chemical Committee and CMD, Deepak Nitrite said, "The high cost of manufacturing in Europe provides India a big opportunity. Moreover, many countries are looking at India as an alternate location to China, for procuring chemicals." "The Government has been very supportive and active in changing the industry ecosystem in India. The PLI scheme is helping to reduce our dependence on imports from China," he added while highlighting that PLI scheme promotes indigenization.

Mr Rajendra Gogri, Co-Chair, FICCI Chemical Committee and CMD, Aarti Industries said that the sector has a huge import substitution opportunity, and this decade can be a golden one for the sector.

Mr KK Srivastava, Director, DCPC, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Govt. of India delivered a vote of thanks during the interaction.