President of India, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, has urged the chemical industry to focus on promoting sustainable development by increasing investment in green technologies.
Inaugurating India Chem 2012, the President said the domestic chemical industry should set targets and standards and make utmost efforts to follow the safety norms and international health and environmental standards.
He said, according to the National Manufacturing Policy, the chemical and petrochemical industry can play a major part in boosting the share of manufacturing sector in the GDP from the existing 16 percent to 25 percent. He said the National Chemical Policy, which is under formulation at present, would contain measures to enhance its performance.
The President said India has become a centre of attraction for global chemical companies and suggested that the industry should now at once engage in research and collaborations.
He noted that Asia's share in the international chemical industry has grown from 31 percent to 45 percent. However, the US$ 108 billion Indian chemical industry represents only three percent share of the global chemical industry, he added.
This presents the Indian legislators and the industry with a solid reason to take the first step towards preparing a policy aimed at boosting the sector's share in Asian and global markets, he said.
He urged the Indian chemical industry to hike its Research and Development (R&D) expenditure from the existing one to two percent of the annual turnover to five to six percent.
India Chem 2012, a chemical industry expo, was organized by the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Source:
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