PLI scheme in chemicals: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced that the central government will consider doling out the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the Chemicals and Petrochemicals sector in the country. She said that strict pollution control regulations and increasing labour costs have led the industry’s global manufacturers to look for diversification of their production capability.
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India as a petrochemical manufacturing destination
India stands out as an alternative destination for manufacturing, the Minister said, speaking at the third edition of the summit on ‘Global Chemicals and Petrochemicals Manufacturing Hubs in India’.
According to PTI, Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted that India offers a large domestic market for Chemicals and Petrochemicals products. “If viable options exist, it exists in such markets where there is a domestic buffer and beyond which there is an export potential. So that is where the government’s policies have been facilitating,” she said.
“We are in favour of having India becoming a manufacturing hub and, therefore, of course, we will consider the PLI also for the chemicals and petrochemicals,” PTI quoted the Finance Minister as saying.
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Focus on sustainability
Nirmala Sitharaman spoke at length about the importance of keeping sustainability in mind. She emphasised that the industry should create manufacturing capacity considering sustainability, carbon emission, general pollution, and groundwater pollution, among others.
Underlining India’s sustainability goals, she said, “we should remember that India has set its sights on becoming energy independent by 2047 and achieving net zero by 2070.”
The Minister highlighted the government’s focus on green growth, stating that it is imperative that carbon intensity be reduced. “Each of the sectors will have to contribute to this,” she said.
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She said that the country’s energy efficiency and renewable energy commitments (aiming for 500 gigawatts of installed electricity capacities from non fossil fuel sources) are crucial and exhorted India Inc to keep that in mind.
