National chemical policy and safety in chemical plants – to adopt a rating system with zero tolerance for the safety

1. Report on
“India Chem Gujarat 2013”
Date: 24th – 27th October, 2013 Venue: Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar
Organized by Knowledge Partner Supported By

2. 2
Chemical industry is a capital as well as knowledge intensive industry. Global chemical market size was estimated at USD 3.6 trillion in 2011 and is expected to grow at 4-5% per annum over the next decade to reach ~USD 5.8 trillion by 2021.
India currently accounts for only 3.3 % of the total chemical market with a market size of ~ USD 0.1 trillion in 2011. Indian chemical industry is also a much diversified industry with more than 70,000 commercial products. It accounted for ~13% of the gross value added by the industry segment. It accounted for ~13% of the total India's export. Indian chemical sector is very crucial for the economic development of country.
Specialty chemical industry is a knowledge driven industry. In India it has been growing rapidly at 1.2-1.3x of GDP growth rate (~12%) over the last five years and currently stands at ~USD 20 Billion. Domestic demand of specialty chemicals is expected to follow an accelerated growth path. This demand is mostly driven by the strong growth outlook for end use industries. This along with increased adoption of specialty chemicals and newer usages can propel the growth further. The Indian Specialty Chemical market is valued at ~USD 20 billion as of FY12.
No. of speakers:
International: 0
Domestic: 6
No. of exhibitors: 121
No. of participants: Over 8000
The conference was attended by dignitaries such as:
Shri Narendra Modi
Hon’ble Chief Minister, Gujarat
Shri Saurabh Patel
Minister, Energy & Petrochemicals
Shri Maheshwar Sahu,IAS
Principal Secretary, Government of Gujarat
Shri Indrajit Pal, IAS
Secretary, Government of India
Shri Deepak Mehta
Chairman, FICCI
Shri Arvind Prasad
Director General, FICCI

3. 3
The event
Shri Maheshwar Sahu, IAS (Principal Secretary, Government of Gujarat) started the event by inviting all the dignitaries to light the lamp. More than 35 countries along with more than 150 exhibitors participated in the event. The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi, was presented a Green Certificate for planting 10 trees in Alwar, Rajasthan.
Shri Deepak Mehta (Chairman, FICCI) started his address by quoting that India would be in better hands under Shri Narendra Modi. He also was of an opinion that Gujarat has become a destination for many companies to enter India. He also focused on the fact that Gujarat contributes to more than 60% of the chemical production in India. He said that Gujarat has not only grown in major cities but the infrastructure growth has been simultaneous in smaller towns also and Gujarat is role model for other states in Infrastructure development. He concluded by saying “Gujarat is like Mecca for chemical Industry”.
Shri Indrajit Pal (Secretary, Government of India) focused on the specialty chemicals. He touched upon certain issues faced by the chemical industry such as infrastructure and skill development, different taxation rules and regulations and the safety and health aspects. For the skill development, he mentioned that through CIPET (Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology), training would be provided to around 6 lac people from 2012 to 2022. Out of these, around 16,000 have been trained till date and around 40,000 will be trained in 2013-2014. He also mentioned about the institute in Baroda which has initiated working in green chemistry. He concluded with the focus on 2 things – national chemical policy and safety in chemical plants where a safety rating system should be adopted with zero tolerance for the safety.
Shri Saurabh Patel (Minister, Energy & Petrochemicals) started his address by saying that the last decade was one of finest periods for Gujarat as it achieved a double digit growth rate. Shri Pal had earlier pointed that the manufacturing sector contribution to the GDP was expected to be 25% from the current 16% till 2025 to which Shri Saurabh Patel pointed that, in Gujarat, the manufacturing sector contribution to the GDP was expected to be 32% from the current 27.1% till 2017. He mentioned that the strengths of Gujarat are “inclusive growth” and the availability of its own chemical port, DAHEJ PCPIR, which is the biggest in Asia using around 75 million

4. 4
gallons per day of water. The energy generation capacity is around 18,000 MW which is expected to increase up to 21,000 MW. He credited all the above points to the political stability in Gujarat which has always infused confidence in the investors that their money is always safe.
Shri Narendra Modi (Hon’ble Chief Minister, Gujarat) shared the importance of the removal of hazardous chemical industries and the global challenges facing chemical industries. He elaborated that safety norms are always forced on the developing nations. Adding to this, he stated that adopting environmental technology should be the necessity in the coming times and companies should always start first with safeguards. He mentioned that only 3% of chemicals are exported on global level which could be increased through building world class research labs built through corpus funds. He focused on the point that vegetable color is preferred in recent times and Human Resources development is equally important as the infrastructure development. He concluded that Gujarat manufactures around 85% of the castor in India but no value addition is done resulting in improper use of castor.
Shri Arvind Prasad (Director General, FICCI) ended the event with a vote of thanks.
Major points discussed:
 Gujarat contributes to more than 60% of the chemical production in India
 About national chemical policy and safety in chemical plants – to adopt a rating system with zero tolerance for the safety
 Strengths of Gujarat – “inclusive growth” and the availability of its own chemical port
 Importance of the removal of hazardous chemical industries and the global challenges facing chemical industries
 Gujarat manufactures around 85% of the castor in India
Way Forward:
 Only 3% of chemicals exported on global level which could be increased through building world class research labs built through corpus funds
 Value addition in the castor produced
 The manufacturing sector contribution to the GDP is expected to be 32% from the current 27.1% till 2017

5. 5
Exhibition:
Since the time of its inception, India Chem has emerged as a truly global show on chemicals in India. To give a further impetus to this ever - growing sector, FICCI along with Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Government of India, Government of Gujarat and iNDEXTb organised an International Exhibition and Conference on Fine, Specialty Chemicals, Agro Chemicals and Colorants Industry to understand issues & developments concerning the Industry and also to provide the industry players a platform for networking and business promotion in the state of Gujarat.

6. 6
The exhibition covered topics such as investment opportunities in Specialty Chemicals, the regulatory mechanism and reforms, the export potential and the new markets, etc. For example, the ink used for printing the currency, which is currently imported, can be made in the country itself. Various business opportunities such as exhibition of the latest products, machinery, equipment and developments in the industry for test marketing and generating business, technology transfer, setting up Research and Development base, one to one business meetings, etc. were provided to the exhibitors.

7. 7
Major exhibitors included:  Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd  Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers Ltd.  Deepak Nitrite Limited  BASF  Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Limited  Johnson Matthey Chemicals India Ltd.  Kirloskar Brother Limited  L&T Valves Limited  Tata Chemicals Limited  Mangalore SEZ Ltd.