Indian Economy
Plastic Industry
- 16 Aug 2019
- 2 min read
Plastic manufacturers, in a recent meeting with government, have called for export promotion schemes for Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the plastic industry.
- The manufacturers have sought allocation of 25% of the land available at all industrial corridors for MSMEs at discounted rates.
- The industry also sought world-class infrastructure for MSMEs under the Public Private Partnership model comprising physical infrastructure, knowledge infrastructure, incubation centres, e-platforms, B2B access and technology and innovation support for MSME.
- The industry appealed to the government to make lending to MSMEs more convenient.
- It also demanded direct tax exemption on export income and income generated directly or indirectly from indigenisation as well as import substitution exemption for a period of five years.
- It also asked for the removal of anti-dumping duty on plastic processing machines not made in India.
Challenges to the Plastic Industry
- Plastics have taken up a sizeable chunk of the municipal solid waste streams and hence are posing an environmental issue.
- Plastics, being a polymer derived from crude, are made up of long chains of carbon. It takes years for them to decompose completely.
- Improper disposal of plastics leads to groundwater pollution, disturbance in soil microbial activity along with releasing of carcinogenic chemicals in the atmosphere leading to health issues among people.
- Availability of raw materials such as Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC), Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene (PE), being linked to crude prices.
- Anti Dumping Duty on machineries imported by the plastic processors.
Suggestions
- Producing Bio-plastics which are made from renewable materials such as biomass.
- Promoting plastic waste management infrastructure in the country.
