Mumbai, April 16, 2022

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal today exhorted the Indian Plastic Industry to take the sector from the current level of around Rs. 3 lakh crores of economic activity to Rs. 10 lakh crores in around 4-5 years. The Minister said that this would be a national service from the plastics industry; this will create at least 1 - 1.5 crore jobs which is what the country needs today.

Addressing the 'Export Excellence Awards 2017-2021' of apex plastics industry trade body The Plastics Export Promotion Council (PLEXCONCIL) in Mumbai today, the Union Minister said that he sees the industry as one which gives lot of impetus for job creation, especially in MSME sector, with the potential to provide jobs to many people from marginalized sections who have been left behind in the development cycle.

The Minister called upon the Plastic industry to emerge as a benchmark for quality & carve its way towards a larger global market share.

The Minister told the industry that it needs to reduce the volume of imports and become self-reliant. The volume of imports of 17 billion dollars shows that there is a clear market waiting for us to capture, said the Minister. “With an economy growing at 7%-8% for next 25 years, I am sure making the plastics industry a 100 billion dollars industry in next 4-5 years is very much achievable. We must aspire to reach that level.”

“We have to now look at significant growth since the world today is looking towards India, to be a part of resilient supply chains. India has requisite skills and capabilities in plastics sector; we can match competition from anywhere in the world" Shri Goyal added.

The Minister asked the industry to think big and expand their global footprint. “Free Trade Agreements with UAE and Australia which we have signed recently will open opportunities for you in contemporary sectors, but this will be possible when we embrace international standards, so see how we can get a larger share of the pie in developed economies" he said.

Shri Goyal emphasized the  importance of upholding world-class quality standards. The Minister reiterated his appeal to the industry to upgrade technology and enhance scale of operations. “All our products should be second to none in the world; it is time we embrace high quality standards which will help sustain the industry in the long run. Sectors like construction and healthcare sectors offer lot of potential for the plastic industry; plastics can help bring down energy usage in automobiles and aeroplanes.” he added.

Quoting Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Minister assured the assistance of foreign missions to achieve the industry’s foreign ambitions. “Our PM has instructed our foreign missions to look at Trade, Technology and Tourism as a part of their key performance indicators; our mission heads are all quite excited to support, handhold and facilitate you, to connect you with local businesses.’

Pitching for sustainability in the sector, the Minister said that we need to demonstrate to the world that Indians are environmentally conscious. “It is important to devise ways to collect and recycle and reuse plastic waste, so that it does not mess with our environmental story. We need to seriously consider segregating and reprocessing plastic waste; once we are able to do this, it will significantly reduce the negativity about using plastics”.

The Minister commended the industry especially the plastic industry for standing up and achieving challenging targets during COVID-19 and in the ongoing global situation in wake of the war.

Chairman Emeritus of Nilkamal Limited, Vamanrai V. Parekh, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. 95 companies and organisations were honoured with Export Excellence Awards.

PLEXCONCIL, India's apex trade body of plastics industry, hosted its Export Excellence Awards after a gap of two years due to the pandemic situation.

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PIB MUMBAI | DJM/CP/DL/PK

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