NITI Aayog in its report titled 'Chemical Industry: Powering India's Participation in Global Value Chains' has said that India should establish world-class chemical hubs and develop eight high-potential port-infrastructure clusters to become a global chemical manufacturing powerhouse. It said India is aiming $1 trillion chemical output by 2040.

According to the report, India is set to increase its Global Value Chains (GVC) share from 3.5 per cent in 2023 to 5-6 per cent by 2040, creating 7 lakh additional jobs by 2030. India's 3.5 per cent share in global chemical value chains and its chemical trade deficit at $31 billion in 2023 underscore its high dependence on imported feedstock and speciality chemicals. However, it said targeted reforms encompassing a comprehensive range of fiscal and non-fiscal interventions will enable India to have a $1 trillion chemical sector and achieve 12 per cent GVC share by 2040, thus becoming a global chemical powerhouse.

Outlining several strategic fiscal and non-fiscal interventions aimed at enhancing India's global competitiveness in the chemical sector, the report said there is a need of establishment of empowered committee at the Central level along with creation of a chemical fund under the empowered committee with a budgetary outlay for shared infrastructure development, VGF, etc. It suggested that the administrative body at the chemical hub level should handle the overall management of the hub. 

While pitching for composition of a Chemical Committee for ports to advise on and address infrastructural gaps in chemical trading at ports, it said there is a need for development of 8 high-potential port clusters. It recommended that the government should incentivise incremental production of chemicals based on import bill, export potential, single source country dependence, end-market criticality etc. It also made a case for fast-track environmental clearance with transparency and accountability.