Indian Chemical Industry

The Indian Chemical Industry forms the backbone of the industrial and agricultural development of India and provides building blocks for several downstream industries. According to the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, the Indian chemical industry is estimated to be worth approximately US$ 35 bn, which is about 3% of India’s total GDP. The total investment in the Indian chemical industry is approximately US$ 60 bn and total employment generated was about 1 mn. In terms of volume, it is 12th largest in the world and 3rd largest in Asia.

Exports of chemicals from India have increased significantly and account for about 14% of total exports and 9% of total imports of the country. The Indian chemical industry comprises both small and large-scale units. Fiscal concessions granted to the small sector in the mid-eighties led to the establishment of a large number of units in the Small Scale Industries (SSI) sector.

  
The major sub segments of this industry include alkali, organic chemicals, inorganic chemicals, pesticides, dyes & dyestuffs and specialty chemicals. The Indian chemical industry deals in products like fertilizers, bromine compounds, catalyst, sodium and sodium compounds, dye intermediates, inks and resins, phosphorous, paint chemicals, coatings, isobutyl, zinc sulphate, zinc chloride, water treatment chemicals, organic surfactants, pigment dispersions, industrial aerosols and many more.



 

The commodity chemicals are the largest segment in the chemical market. Some of the major markets for chemicals are North America, Western Europe, Japan and emerging economies in Asia and Latin America. The Indian chemical industry is matured and is in the midst of a major restructuring and consolidation phase. Globalization has opened the doors for this sector to capture a major part of the global market.