India may consider PLI scheme for chemicals and petrochemicals: FM Sitharaman

New Delhi, Jul 27: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated on Thursday that the government is considering the implementation of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the chemicals and petrochemical sector. Sitharaman added that the government aims to be energy independent by 2047 and achieve net-zero by 2070 according to a report by the Economic Times.

 

 

 

At the third edition of the summit on Global Chemicals and Petrochemicals Manufacturing Hubs in India, the finance minister stated, "Net Zero can’t be achieved unless each industry and sector contributes to it. 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." The government has been focused on introducing PLI schemes in various manufacturing sectors in India to boost the production industry.

 

 

 

Back in February 2022, Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the ministry was planning to bring a PLI scheme for the chemical sector to boost domestic production and exports. The minister added that this was part of India's larger goal of becoming self-reliant. Last week, the government announced the re-bidding of PLIs for 20 gigawatt hours (GWh) of advanced chemistry cell manufacturing. This is India's Rs 18,100-crore program to boost local battery cell production. The PLI scheme 'National Programme on ACC Battery Storage', was initiated to achieve a manufacturing capacity of 50 GWh of ACC. It was expected to directly reduce the import of crude oil to a significant extent and increase the share of renewables at the national grid level.

 

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As reported by Business Standard earlier, this also comes at a time when Russia makes up 46 percent of India’s oil imports. Now that the discounts provided to India are narrowing, it has been brought to light again that depending too heavily on one source of supply could create problems in the long run, especially if sanctions tighten any further. This PLI scheme also has major applications on electric vehicles, maintaining grid stability, solar rooftop, consumer electronics, etc. Therefore, it would support India's push toward renewable energy.