The Indian Chemical Industry is highly diversified and has to its credit over 80,000 commercial products. It can be primarily classified into three broad categories i.e Basic chemicals, Specialty chemicals, and Agrochemicals. In terms of volume, the Indian chemical industry is the sixth-largest producer of chemicals in the world. The late P. C. Ray can be rightfully termed as the father of the Indian chemical industry. It was under his visionary leadership that India’s first pharmaceutical company was established in 1892. Let us look at key facts and figures that outline the scale of India’s chemical industry.
Some Early Milestones
India’s first petroleum refinery, Indian Oil Corporation, was established in 1901.
India’s first fertilizer company, Dharamsi Morarji Chemical Co., was established in 1919.
Tata Chemicals Ltd, the world's second-largest producer of soda ash, established in 1944.
India's first urea production plant, Sindri Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd, established in 1951.
Market Size of India’s Chemical Industry
India’s chemical industry was valued at $ 163 bn in 2017-18. During this period, India produced 47,882,000 metric tonnes of chemicals and petrochemicals. Among these, alkali chemicals alone accounted for more than half of the total production. Alkali chemicals are primarily used in the production of soap, detergent, paper, and agriculture.
The primary reason behind this robust demand is India’s growing population coupled with a reduction in cultivable land. India has a very strong domestic consumer market. Chemical suppliers in India expect the agrochemical market to reach $ 7.5 bn by 2019. Further, India commands a 15% share in the global colorant chemical segment.
The rise of Asia as the global manufacturing hub has put India in the spotlight. Favorable government policies are further attracting strong foreign investment in the Industry. Some of the major foreign investors include BASF, Dupont, Henkel, AkzoNobel, and Croda. Moreover, even as the Indian economy has shown signs of a slowdown, the chemical industry has managed to return strong growth figures. A silver lining nevertheless when we consider the impact the Sino-American trade war has had on the global economy.
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