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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.

Terror Has an Address Now

Pahalgam is a brutal reminder that terrorism thrives not just on violence but on the world’s indifference.

The massacre of 27 innocent civilians in Pahalgam, Kashmir is a grim reminder that violent extremism respects no boundary, no creed and no norm of humanity. This was not merely an attack on civilians but an assault on the idea of civilised order. When terror strikes tourists on a peaceful journey, it exposes the moral bankruptcy of the extremists and the complacency of those who merely condemn without consequence.


Time and again, the global response to terrorism follows a weary ritual: swift condemnation, sombre diplomacy and then silence. What is needed now is not rhetoric but resolve. There can be no negotiation with those who traffic in violence as ideology. The outpouring of unity across India after the Pahalgam tragedy cutting across political, religious and social lines sent a clear signal that Bharat speaks with one voice against terrorism. The world would do well to echo it.


The idea that terrorism can be contained or compartmentalised is a dangerous illusion. Violence ignored is violence emboldened. The doctrine of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - the world as one family - demands not only philosophical commitment but strategic coherence. Terrorism is not selective; it feeds on silence, on division and on international double standards.


India, with its syncretic heritage and pluralistic ethos, has long embraced tolerance. Yet it has also been among the foremost victims of cross-border terror. That Pakistan continues to serve as a sanctuary for violent extremists is no secret. The irony is painful: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, whose own mother, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated by militants, now lends rhetorical comfort to the very forces responsible for atrocities such as Pahalgam.


Indians remember standing in solidarity with Pakistan after the carnage in Peshawar and the murder of Sufi singers. But reciprocity remains elusive. Sectarian violence continues to claim lives in Pakistan. Shias, Ahmadis and other minorities live under constant threat. What Pakistan exports to the world, above all, is instability.


The international community must stop treating Pakistan’s duplicity as a diplomatic inconvenience. It must recognise that terror has metastasised into a global cancer, one that cannot be excised with half-measures or hollow statements. Human-rights organisations, too, must resist the temptation to remain silent when terror is unleashed against Indians. Silence, in such moments, is complicity.


If the world truly believes in peace, it must match India’s unity with its own. Pahalgam should not become just another headline. It should be the turning point in the fight against the global machinery of violent extremism.


The massacre is a chilling reminder that violent extremism continues to flourish with impunity. For decades, India has borne the brunt of cross-border terrorism - from the attack on its Parliament in 2001 to the carnage in Mumbai in 2008. Yet global responses have too often been confined to platitudes and perfunctory condemnations. It is high time that the international community acknowledge that terrorism in Kashmir is not a local grievance but a global threat.


Despite their grief, Indians have shown uncommon unity in the face of this violence. The aim of the terrorists, which is to sow communal discord and stifle Kashmir’s economic revival, is being countered with resolve. Tourism, a key pillar of Kashmir’s prosperity, must not be allowed to falter. With a direct train connecting the Valley to Kanyakumari in the south, India’s response should be to flood Kashmir with tourists, not fear.


The question, however, remains: what is the world doing to dismantle the infrastructure that enables such attacks? Pakistan, which gave sanctuary to Osama bin Laden and has long harboured extremist networks, remains a hub for jihadist ideology. It is time the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) reconsidered its indulgence. International funding routed through institutions such as the IMF should be scrutinised with far greater rigour. Too often, it props up a military-political elite while ordinary Pakistanis remain trapped between poverty and propaganda.


India, a land steeped in Sufi traditions and pluralism, has long advocated for a united global front against terrorism. Yet the world continues to view this scourge through the lens of narrow self-interest. The battle for Kashmir’s soul is not India’s alone but a litmus test of whether the international community truly believes in a peaceful, rules-based order. The blood spilled in Pahalgam must not be in vain.


(The author is an academician, columnist, historian and a strong voice on Gender and Human Rights.)

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