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Future of chemical sector in India

Importance of chemical sector in India:

  1. Chemical sector plays a vital role in the daily routine of human life, from the apparels, shoes and woven items that are worn to the pharmaceutical items that are needed from time to time are all output of the chemical sector. For the development of the industrial sector of an economy, the chemical sector plays a crucial role.

  2. India’s chemical sector is currently the fifth largest chemical industry of the world and has a net worth of around 178 billion USD (which is expected to grow alongside India’s domestic economy and might touch the 300 billion USD mark in the forthcoming future). India’s chemical sector is mainly involved in the manufacturing of basic organic and in-organic chemicals, i.e., food preservatives, perfumes, etc.

  3. Chemical sector of a country can be categorized into:

  • Organic and inorganic chemicals.

  • Synthetic chemicals.

  • Speciality chemicals.

  • Pharmaceutical ingredients.

  • Organic and inorganic chemicals: Organic chemicals are the one which are utilized in the production of common household products, such as, food additives, perfumes, food preservatives, etc. On the other hand, inorganic chemicals are the ones which are generally non-carbon-containing compounds, such as, ammonia, nitric acid, barium, water, salt, baking soda, etc. Those inorganic compounds are usually used in the production of paper pulp, pigments, surfactants, etc.

 

  • Synthetic chemicals: Synthetic chemicals are non-identical and different from the naturally occurring chemicals, which are usually made by means of combination and modification (synthetization) of natural and artificial compounds. Some of the examples of synthetic chemicals include: Polystyrene (polystyrene plastic), PVC (polyvinyl chloride), etc.

 

  • Speciality chemicals: As the name suggests, these chemicals are manufactured for a particular and specific purpose only. Examples of specialty chemicals include: Sunscreen lotions, moisturizers, artificial flavors, etc. There’s a good possibility of India being the future global supplier of speciality chemicals. Currently India’s speciality chemical substances sector is a 32 billion USD industry and has an universal market share of around 4.5%, which is expected to grow much more in the forthcoming future.

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  • Pharmaceuticals ingredients: India’s pharmaceutical industry has been one of the global and major market contenders and it is presently a 42 billion USD industry. India’s pharmaceutical ingredients industry has been playing a key role for the expansion of the pharmaceutical sector of India. The chemical compounds that are important for the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products are: Chloroform, diclofenac, acetonitrile, acetaminophen, chloride, etc.

Future of chemical sector of India:

As has been discussed earlier, with the development of an economy, the production and consumption of several basic and speciality chemicals grows. India’s domestic consumption of speciality chemicals, synthetic chemicals and pharmaceutical chemicals industry could be part of India's industrial boost. With the development of agro-technology, advancement in agricultural products,  India’s agro-chemical sector (in which organic and inorganic chemical plays a crucial role), could also be part of that major development boost. Chemical sector of India could be expected to have a sustainable growth rate of 9% per annum as a result of development in the field of technologies, innovations and research facilities.

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