National chemical policy in the offing

The national chemical policy aimed at orderly industry growth is likely to be rolled out somewhere in June next year, a top government official said.

"We expect the national chemical policy to be rolled out next year. It should be declared within three months of the submission of recommendations by the task force led by member planning commission Arun Maira," Joint Secretary Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers S C Gupta said.

"In the chemical sector we only have a focused petrochemical policy so far," he said.
"The policy would aim towards orderly growth for the industry, identify our competitive advantages and also address issues related to the environment," Gupta said.

Gupta was speaking on the sidelines of an event organised by the apex industry body Indian Chemical Council (ICC), on issues related to Chemical Weapon Convention Act-2000.

"The 18-member task force constituted a fortnight ago is scheduled to submit it''s recommendations to the government in next six months," Gupta said.

"Recommendations of the task force will set roadmap for the future of chemical industry in India," he said.

Ahmedabad, Sep 13,201
PTI