Chemicals & fertilisers ministry to set up chemicals parks: Mansukh Mandaviya

Union chemicals and fertilisers minister Mansukh Mandaviya says the government is undertaking detailed work on establishing chemicals parks in the country. Mandaviya says the chemicals industry can form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) and join hands with the central and state governments for the same.

Addressing the summit on Global Chemicals and Petrochemicals Manufacturing Hubs in India, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh Mandaviya, says, “We need one petrochemical cracker every year. We are running behind on this, and we need to catch up with the past. We need to set up four to five crackers immediately. With the crackers in place, it will be a huge opportunity for its downstream sector. These are opportunity needs to be encashed. We have been working towards this with a holistic approach. I have given directions for setting up of chemical parks on which detailed work is going on.”

Crackers are large units at petrochemical complexes, which produce the key building blocks of ethylene, propylene, butadiene, aromatics, and acetylene.

“Industry needs to partner with the government on this,” he says, emphasising on the government’s vision of transforming India into the world's manufacturing hub. Mandaviya points out that the government's holistic approach towards industry promotion has positioned India as the preferred investment destination globally.

“Brainstorming is a continuous exercise, both with the government and within the industry," Mandaviya says.

On the opening day of the summit, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman says the government wants India to become a manufacturing hub and will consider a production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the chemicals and petrochemicals sector too.

She also says the market of specialty chemicals is growing exponentially and the industry in India is expected to grow at 12% CAGR. “I, therefore, understand the need for more robust support for specialised chemicals. The emergence of this market is driven by the country's strong process engineering capabilities, low-cost manufacturing capabilities, and abundant manpower,” the minister notes.