Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the government will consider production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for chemicals and petrochemicals sector to make India a manufacturing hub for such products.

Given stringent pollution control regulations and rising labour costs, she said, global manufacturers in the chemical industry are looking at diversifying their products and production capability and India stands out as an alternative destination for manufacturing.

Besides, India offers a large domestic market, she said while addressing the third edition of the summit on ‘’Global Chemicals and Petrochemicals Manufacturing Hubs in India’’.

“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,” she added.

She emphasised that the industry which has great potential should create manufacturing capacity keeping in mind sustainability, carbon emission, general pollution and groundwater pollution.

“India has set its sights on becoming energy independent by 2047 and achieving net zero by 2070. So net zero cannot be achieved unless each industry and each sector contributes.

“We are very focused on green growth. Carbon intensity has to be reduced and therefore each one of the sectors will have to contribute to this,” she said.

Energy efficiency and renewable energy commitments of India are also very important, she said, adding, India Inc should keep that in mind.

The Hydrogen Mission is also something which she urged the industry to keep in mind. The National Green Hydrogen Mission seeks to promote development of green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 MMT (million metric tonnes) per annum by 2030.

PTI