India's National Chemical Policy : The wait continues

India is an important player in the global trade of chemicals, plastics and allied products and there is still tremendous scope to increase its share in the global trade. Near term outlook of Indian Chemical sector is looking promising as government is keenly taking various measures to help the Industry. The government has initiated  the national policy on chemicals.Work on the National Chemical Policy is in the final stages.The policy is expected to help India's chemicals sector grow and become more competitive as well as place a framework for promoting safety and security of chemical facilities.

The wait still cotinues.First drawn up in 2012, a 'final draft' was released in January 2014. At that time, industry began pushing the government of the newly elected prime minister, Narendra Modi, for finalisation. But no further progress was made until late last year. A new, more concise 'final draft' was completed after many rounds of deliberation and inter-ministerial consultation, but it has not yet been released.