Stakeholders Call for Self-reliant, Cost-effective Shift in Chemicals Sector

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
The chemicals sector in the country needs to be more self-reliant and cost-effective to bring down its dependence on external sources by strengthening the collaboration between research and development institutions and industry, say industry stakeholders.

They were speaking at the Industry Connect meet on ‘Chemical Synergy: Bridging Industries with Synthetic Expertise,’ organised by CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST)on its campus at Pappanamcode today.

ElixGlobal Mentor Dr Srinivas Lanka and Crystal Crop Protection Ltd., VP-R&D, Dr Rajeev R Jha, were the guests of honour at the function, which also featured Dr Santosh Nandan, Managing Director, Ambernath Organics Pvt Ltd.

Setting the context for deliberations, Dr C Anandharamakrishnan, Director, CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram, highlighted India’s significant role as an exporter of chemicals, especially specialty chemicals.

In his address, Dr. Lanka emphasized the need to minimize dependence on external sources like China and called for self-reliance in the chemicals sector. He noted the importance of developing cost-effective methods for drug intermediates, identifying flow chemistry and enzyme technologies as promising areas for immediate exploration.

Stressing on the necessity to keep costs low while developing agrochemical molecules, Dr. Jha called for a collaborative approach involving both scientists and engineers from the onset to address potential challenges, including environmental considerations.

Dr. Nandan explained the importance of data collection of chemical reactions to create a comprehensive database. He also urged for economic considerations in research, besides stressing on the importance of reproducibility in scientific endeavours.

Panel discussions on various topics ranging from chemical and pharmaceutical sector, exploring the untapped potential within India’s specialty and fine chemicals landscape to R&D hurdles in the chemicals and pharmaceuticals industry were also held.