India’s chemical industry seen growing at 9% to nearly $214 bn by FY19

The market for chemicals in India is expected to grow at an annual rate of 9 per cent through FY19 to touch Rs14,00,000 crore ($214 billion), from the current Rs9,04,000 crore ($139 billion), says a report by the Tata Strategic Management Group.

"The domestic chemicals industry has the potential to grow at 9 per cent annually to reach $214 billion by FY19 from $139 billion in Fy14," says the report

At $139 billion, the current domestic chemical market constitutes 3.3 per cent of the global market for chemicals, the report points out.

"The Indian chemical industry is an integral component of the economy and has the potential to grow at 9 per cent per annum to reach $214 billion by 2019," Tata Strategic Management Group practice head (chemicals and energy) Manish Panchal said in a statement.

Panchal further said that key imperatives for the growth of chemical industry are to secure feedstock, right product mix and identify partnership opportunities to gain capital and technology support.

The sector, which is highly diversified, with more than 80,000 chemicals, however, accounts for 15 per cent of India s industrial output.

The report underlined lack of availability of key feedstock, infrastructure status and access to technology, coupled with poor operational scale, energy security and ease of doing business as the critical issues plaguing the industry.

Gujarat is the largest manufacturer chemicals in the country and contributes 62 per cent of petrochemicals, 51 per cent of chemicals and 35 per cent of pharmaceuticals.

This is the largest and the fastest growing component of the state's manufacturing, it notes.