top of page

By:

Akhilesh Sinha

25 June 2025 at 2:53:54 pm

Nadda's strategic meet signals urgency for chemical sector

New Delhi: As war simmers across the volatile landscape of West Asia, whether in the form of a direct confrontation between Israel, United States and Iran, or through Iran's hybrid warfare involving groups like Hezbollah and the Houthis, the tremors are no longer confined to the region's borders. They are coursing through the arteries of the global economy. India's chemicals and petrochemicals sector, heavily dependent on this region for critical raw materials, finds itself among the earliest...

Nadda's strategic meet signals urgency for chemical sector

New Delhi: As war simmers across the volatile landscape of West Asia, whether in the form of a direct confrontation between Israel, United States and Iran, or through Iran's hybrid warfare involving groups like Hezbollah and the Houthis, the tremors are no longer confined to the region's borders. They are coursing through the arteries of the global economy. India's chemicals and petrochemicals sector, heavily dependent on this region for critical raw materials, finds itself among the earliest and hardest hit by this geopolitical turbulence. It is in this backdrop that the recent meeting convened by Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers J. P. Nadda at Kartavya Bhavan must be seen not as a routine consultation, but as a signal of strategic urgency. India's ambition to scale this sector from its current valuation of $220 billion to $1 trillion by 2040, and further to $1.5 trillion by 2047, will remain aspirational unless the country confronts its structural vulnerabilities with clarity and resolve. India today ranks as the world's sixth-largest producer of chemicals and the third-largest in Asia. The sector contributes 6-7 percent to GDP and underpins a wide spectrum of industries, from agriculture and pharmaceuticals to automobiles, construction, and electronics. It would be no exaggeration to call it the backbone of modern industrial India. Yet, embedded within this strength is a paradox. India's share in the global chemical value chain (GVC) stands at a modest 3.5 percent. A trade deficit of $31 billion in 2023 underscores a deeper issue: while India produces at scale, it remains marginal in high-value segments. This imbalance becomes starkly visible when disruptions in West Asia choke the supply of key feedstocks, shaking the very foundations of domestic industry. Supply Disruption The current crisis has laid this fragility bare. Disruptions in the supply of LNG, LPG, and sulfur have led to production cuts of 30-50 percent in several segments. With nearly 65 percent of sulfur imports sourced from the Middle East, the ripple effects have extended beyond chemicals to fertilisers, plastics, textiles, and other downstream industries. Strategic chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz have witnessed disruptions, pushing shipping costs up by 20-30 percent and adding further strain to cost structures. This is precisely where Nadda's emphasis on supply chain diversification and resilience appears prescient. In today's world, self-reliance cannot mean isolation; it must translate into strategic flexibility. While India imports crude oil from as many as 41 countries, several critical inputs for the chemical industry remain concentrated in a handful of sources, arguably the sector's most significant vulnerability. Opportunity Ahead A recent report by NITI Aayog outlines a pathway to convert this vulnerability into opportunity. It envisions raising India's GVC share to 5-6 percent by 2030 and to 12 percent by 2040. If achieved, the sector could not only reach the $1 trillion mark but also generate over 700,000 jobs. However, this transformation will demand more than policy intent, it will require sustained investment and disciplined execution. The most pressing challenge lies in research and innovation. India currently spends just 0.7 percent of industry revenue on R&D, compared to a global average of 2.3 percent. This gap explains why the country remains largely confined to basic chemicals, even as the world moves toward specialty and high-value products. Bridging this divide is essential if India is to climb the value chain. Equally constraining is the fragmented nature of the industry. Dominated by MSMEs with limited access to capital and technology, the sector struggles to compete globally. Cluster-based development models offer a pragmatic way forward, such as PCPIRs and the proposed chemical parks.

"PM Modi can run away from special session, but not from monsoon session": Jairam Ramesh



New Delhi: Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that he can "run away" from a special session of Parliament being demanded by the opposition parties, but not from the monsoon session, which will be convened on July 21.



Expressing reservations over the central government not convening a special session to discuss many issues, including the deadly Pahalgam terror attack and developments following Operation Sindoor, Ramesh accused the government of "diverting attention".



"We've been demanding a special session of Parliament. Yesterday, 16 political parties also wrote. In order to divert attention from the special session, the government suddenly announces the monsoon session of Parliament. The Prime Minister can run away from a special session, but he cannot run away from the Monsoon session," Ramesh told ANI.



He said that the INDIA bloc parties are demanding a special session to be convened immediately since the issues that need to be discussed are "agitating" people in the country now. Ramesh raised concerns about the sudden halt on Operation Sindoor and the revelations made by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan in Singapore about India's losses and gains during the recently concluded conflict.



"We are demanding a discussion on these issues now because these are the issues agitating the people of India now. Why was Operation Sindoor stopped after four days? What has the CDS said in Singapore? Why has Trump, in the last 20 days, repeated 12 times that it is because of him that a ceasefire happened between India and Pakistan? These are the issues the Prime Minister doesn't want to answer," the Congress leader said.



He further argued that this was the first time in the parliamentary history of India that a session had been announced 47 days in advance, and this came despite the continuous demands made by the opposition parties to convene a special session.



"The parliament session is always announced a few days in advance...maybe a maximum of one week or 10 days in advance. Never before in India's parliamentary history has a session been announced 47 days in advance. The object(ive) is very simple. There is a continuing demand from Congress and INDIA parties for a special session of Parliament to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack," Ramesh said.



He highlighted the concerns regarding the "hyphenation" of India and Pakistan and the repeated claims made by US President Donald Trump that he was responsible for a "ceasefire" between the two neighbouring countries.



"The fact that terrorists themselves haven't been brought to justice, the repeated claims of (US) President Trump...the Narendra ka Surrender to Trump. The hyphenation of India and Pakistan, the growing nexus between China and Pakistan, the failure of our diplomacy and foreign policy and the revelation of the Chief of Defence Staff that has been in Singapore and not in our country. These are the real issues," Ramesh said.



Earlier in the day, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced that the Monsoon session of the Parliament will commence from July 21 and run till August 12. Both Houses of the Parliament are scheduled to convene on July 21 at 11 am, after a break of over three months.



The upcoming Monsoon session will be the first Parliament session following Operation Sindoor, which India launched on May 7 in response to a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives.

Comments

bottom of page