India targets to expand its chemicals sector to a trillion dollars by 2040, with government-driven investment and industry-led innovation, amidst calls for policy reforms and global competitiveness enhancements.
India is aiming to lift its chemicals industry to $1 trillion by 2040, with the government positioning investment, manufacturing depth and technology as the main pillars of that expansion. At a CEO roundtable in New Delhi on Monday, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister J P Nadda said the sector would need sustained capital spending and a stronger domestic production base if it is to hit that scale.
The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, working with Invest India, convened the meeting with more than 100 delegates from the global and Indian chemicals industry. According to the government statement, participants included executives from BASF, ExxonMobil, Fujifilm, Lubrizol, Dow Chemicals, UPL, Reliance, DCM Shriram, HMEL, SABIC and Haldia Petrochemicals. Nadda said the government wants a more institutionalised dialogue with industry so that bottlenecks can be identified and turned into time-bound action.
Industry representatives used the session to press for financing support for large upstream projects, more trade-remedy action against unfair competition, and stronger backing for research, development and new technologies. They also called for tax breaks to attract foreign talent, a sovereign fund to help secure technology on the model of South Korea and the United States, and faster single-window approvals for chemical and petrochemical projects. A comprehensive national feedstock policy was another key ask, intended to reduce exposure to geopolitical shocks and supply-chain disruption.
The push builds on earlier projections that India’s chemical industry could grow from about $220 billion to $300 billion by 2025 before reaching the $1 trillion mark by 2040, helped by rising incomes and consumption. Separately, reports have pointed to wider policy ambitions, including a larger share of the global chemicals market by the end of the decade and a stronger emphasis on specialty and green chemicals.
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