The Hindu : Business : Paswan releases National Policy on Petrochemicals

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Saturday, Sep 29, 2007
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Paswan releases National Policy on Petrochemicals

Staff Reporter

— PHOTO: V. V. KRISHNAN

PERSPECTIVES: Union Minister of Steel, Chemicals and Fertilizers, Ram Vilas Paswan (right), with Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, B. K. Handique, at a function to release the National Policy on Petrochemicals in New Delhi on Friday.

NEW DELHI: Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Friday said the Centre has decided to set up four to five new “Petroleum, Chemical, Petrochemical Investment Regions” (PCPIRs) in various States where the Union Government would be investing around Rs.10,000 crores.

“While the State governments of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat have already submitted their project reports for setting up PCPIRs, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Maharashtra have expressed their desire for setting up petrochemical regions,” Mr. Paswan said after releasing the ‘National Policy on Petrochemicals’ here.

“We have decided to grant permissions for setting up PCPIRs to the State governments on a first-come-first-serve basis. We are studying reports already submitted by some State Governments, and once we are satisfied with the proposals we will give a go-ahead,” Mr. Paswan said.

Stating that about 2,500 hectares would be needed to set up the PCPIRs, Mr. Paswan said the Centre would play no role in land acquisition and would work only as a facilitator. Stressing the need for promoting recycling of plastic waste, Mr. Paswan said the new policy emphasises on encouraging research and design (R&D) activities in this area. The Minister said Rs. 36,000-crore investment was likely to be made in the petrochemical sector during the next five years to increase ethylene capacity, the basic raw material for the industry, from the current level of 2.7 million tonnes to 6.9 million tonnes.

The domestic petrochemical industry employed about 3.4 lakh persons in upstream and downstream processing industries and had high potential to generate employment to the tune of 33-lakh more people during the XI Plan, he added.

Assuring the industry leaders to take up their demand of reducing the excise duty from the current level of 16 per cent to 8 per cent with the Government, Mr. Paswan said the new policy would help India become a major global sourcing centre in petrochemicals and plastics.

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