By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JULY 17, 2020: UNION Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Mansukh Mandaviya, has assured  that  government within the ambit of law, will do whatever is possible to protect the plastic industry from the impact of COVID-19.

Mr Manadaviya was addressing a Webinar  yesterday organized by FICCI with the support of Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, CIPET and Plastindia Foundation on “Impact and Implications of COVID-19 on Plastics Industry & Way Forward”.

Mr Mandaviya said the chemicals & petrochemicals sector is a crucial component of the Prime minister Narendra Modi's vision of a  trillion economy.  This sector is the mainstay of industrial development and provides building blocks for many downstream industries. Further it is also contributing to make his vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat come true.

He said, for Indian Plastic industry to become environmentally sustainable, innovative and competitive in the world, “we must acknowledge and define the challenges that lies ahead. We know that Plastic Industry is playing the crucial role in an hour of need, as its products are supporting the efforts of frontline warriors. World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 89 million medical masks, 76 million examination gloves and 1.6 million goggles will be needed for Covid-19 response every month while the pandemic lasts. So, this indicates the need for the industry to rise to the challenge to ensure coronavirus free India. We do not want to fragment the internal market by creating internal barriers or competitive imbalances but come together as a one nation and power.” 

Addressing the webinar Secretary Chemicals and Petrochemicsls  Mr  Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedy said  that this pandemic has revealed the true potential of plastics. Its importance has grown manifold during Covid pandemic due to demand for hazmat suits, N95 masks, gloves, visors, goggles, shoe covers – all of which are made of Polypropylene/plastics. 

He said ,the plastic industry is making a significant contribution to the economic development and growth of various key sectors in the country such as Automotive, Construction, Electronics, Healthcare, Textiles, and FMCG etc. He urged  the industry to work towards the growth of R&D ecosystem. He said, In terms of challenges, DCPC has acknowledged the core issues faced by the plastic industry due to Covid19 and there is a hope that with support of all and further deliberation through this platform our department will be in a position to address the challenges industry is presently facing.