Entries from India Chemicals Blog tagged with 'india'
A droughty question
With the threat of drought looming large over most of India its time to ask another decoupling question. Can the Indian economy escape from the effects of a drought? I found some answers in Niranjan Rajadhyaksha's analysis in today's Mint....
Solar support
The good things in life are rarely free and that applies to solar power too. An analysis on this sector in ICIS chemical business highlights how high investment costs associated with photovoltaic (PV) cells has prevented the technology from being...
Make way for 'Chindonesia'
China, India and Indonesia are powering Asia's economic recovery this year prompting one economist to club the three to form Asia's "next growth triangle". A recent report by CLSA, titled Chindonesia: Enter the Komodo, estimates that the three countries will...
Potash market power
Have Indian fertiliser companies been able to break a stranglehold that major producers have on the global potash market? Indian papers are full of reports on how Indian companies have succeeded in doing this by securing a contract price of...
Plastics problem
We may finally be seeing some balance in the debate on plastic bags and pollution. Rather than being swayed by NGOs to introduce a blanket ban on plastic bags, Jairam Ramesh, the new environment minister, is pushing for greater recycling,...
Dow forced to halt work at Chakan
In yet another blow to Dow Chemical's plans for India the company has had to halt work on its new R&D centre at Chakan, near Pune, following instructions from the Maharashtra chief minister. The government's directive was aimed at appeasing...
Kakinada & Nayachar: back on popular demand
A new year brings in new resolutions and this time around ONGC appears to have recommitted itself a refinery project in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, despite doubts about its viability. And over in West Bengal, the state government is determined to...
Chemical hubs: A distant dream?
I have always been a little sceptical about the Indian government’s plans to build mega chemical hubs across the country. And recent reports have only reinforced some of my doubts. Not only will the scale of these projects be challenging...
Boosting Innovation
It is good to note that the Indian government is looking to boost R&D spend in the chemicals industry. According to this report, agro chemical companies would be given an income tax exemption to the extent of 1.5 times their...
CRAMS: still going strong
Indian companies in the contract research and manufacturing services (CRAMS) domain appear to be doing well as is reflected in the stock market performance of these companies. The list includes Divi’s Laboratories, Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals, Nicholas Piramal, Shasun Chemicals...
Bumpy road ahead?
With 2007 heading to a close it is time to start forecasts for 2008. And the first of the forecasts arrived in my Inbox today. This one is by Goldman Sachs on the Indian economy. The key takeaways are: •...
Nirma expands soda ash presence
Nirma’s transition from a small time detergents player to one of the largest soda ash producers in the world over the last 25 years is certainly impressive. Its announcement yesterday of the acquisition of US-based natural soda ash producer Searles...
Engineers are hot
There is fresh competition for Indian engineers. After IT, it is the turn of the legal outsourcing sector with engineers being recruited to work in the area of patents and intellectually property rights, says this report. Engineers are being hired...
Gail turns to Qatar
In its quest for advantaged feedstock, Gail (India) must have explored almost every country in this world. The latest is Qatar where the company is looking at setting up an integrated complex jointly with Qatar Petrochemical Co (Qapco). This report...
PO surplus set to continue
Despite India’s stellar economic performance there are signs that the country’s polyolefin surplus will not disappear very soon. In a presentation at last week’s Asian Chemical and Petrochemical Conference, Raj Datta of Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd drew out three scenarios. In...
Preparing for the future
I am back from the first Asian Chemical and Petrochemical Conference with lots of information on the Indian chemicals industry that I plan to share in the coming days. The conference, jointly organised by ICIS and the Indian Chemical Council...
Need for innovation
India takes great pride in its large pool of scientists – said to be the largest in the world. But did you know that domestic R&D spending has never exceeded 1% of GDP. And 75-80% of the country’s R&D spend...
Rubber trouble
An interesting article in today’s Mint on how high natural rubber prices are forcing Indian tyre manufacturers to turn to synthetic rubber. Natural rubber prices have risen by 13% since May as Indian production has been affected by rains and...
Managing the manpower crunch
I know innovative solutions are needed to manage the talent squeeze in India. And trust Reliance Industries to find one. According to this report, the company is now turning to its employees to fill the vacuum. Faced with a shortage...
Plans for pet coke
Reliance Industries is known for optimising value. It is now reported to be looking at utilising the petroleum coke from its Jamnagar refineries for production of synthetic fuel such as diesel and naphtha. A report in the Business Line talks...
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