Page 35 - Plastics News January 2018

FeAtures

Advances & Future Opportunities in Polymers & Plastics

urbulence of the past is Advances in the realms of water purification technologies,
Tprogressively giving way to a healthcare and biotechnology, agriculture and e-commerce
growing optimism for the future. are developing and disrupting conventional business
India’s key macro-economic factors platforms at an ever-accelerated pace.
are under control. GST regime is Opportunity Polymers & Plastics
stabilizing and government spending
is rising. Yet, as far as one can envision, whatever be the nature of
human advancement, the need for polymers and plastics
With trends taking shape, Indian is ever assured. There may be a need for differentiated
economy is set to grow @ 7~8 % in the coming years. products over current traditional ones, but the need

Globally, on a clouded economic growth backdrop, India is certain. For we are truly the ‘Industry of Things’
happens to be a bright spot. It is already the world’s Success of plastics as a material-of-choice is a given
fifth largest economy, having overtaken Britain recently. because it is so highly versatile. Be it for reasons of
With over half of its 1.3 billion population below the age light-weighting, non-conductivity, durability, economics
of 25 years, India is about to enter a ‘sweet spot’ – Its and now most importantly, recyclability and demand of
working age population continues to grow faster than the plastics is increasing across the world. Lower unit cost
addition of non-working age population. India is poised to and improvements in performance specifications will
grow from a 2.7 trillion dollar nation to a 7 trillion dollar help it substitute competing materials like paper, metals,
nation by 2030. We shall add approximately 250 million wood and glass etc. In India, even though the plastics
aspirants to our middle class – a highly demanding and industry has witnessed significant growth over the past
lucrative consumer segment. Accelerated need for food, five decades, per-capita consumption remains much lower
clothing, education and infrastructure in India will drive than the world average.
economic growth and consumption for the next 15 to 20 Future growth is expected to accelerate through Application
years. Polymers and plastics shall contribute across all development and through Market development.
these important sectors. Already, it is difficult to imagine
life without polymers. This truly miraculous material has 1. Application Development could have both a near
enabled modern life, through applications across diverse term as well as a long term angle to it:
industries such as healthcare, agriculture, packaging and Near term could inculcate optimum utilization of
automotive among others. existing plastic products. This can significantly
contribute to India’s development index and ensure
And yet, this industry continues to evolve. I believe 2018
and beyond could usher-in accelerated transformation success for many of the current societal initiatives,
for our industry – driven by a multitude of advances that such as those by the Indian Government.
will fundamentally impact how we do business and how Polymers can help build affordable houses at a faster
global economies are managed. rate, so there is a roof above every head. Plastics can
make the dream of Swachh Bharat come true.
The new connected world with ‘Internet of Things’
brings with it many fundamental changes to society and There are many places where clean potable water is
to consumers.Exponential technologies like advanced still not available. Proper sanitation is still a distant
Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Quantum computing would dream in many parts of India.
change the world faster than one can imagine. Adaptive The ever-growing population entails an ever-
Manufacturing / 3D digital printing will revolutionize increasing demand of food products. Plasticulture
manufacturing – moving from mass customization to can help enhance agricultural produce per hectare,
bespoke manufacturing. Innovations in business models
will disrupt vulnerable traditional businesses. Take the empowering the optimum use of available resources.
In short, a healthy and hearty India can become a
case of Transportation or Energy storage: Electric vehicles, reality through increased usage of polymers and
self-driving vehicles, battery technology, affordable wind plastics products. One such example is of Oriented
/ solar energy technologies, light-weighting among others, PVC Pipes that are used for high-pressure water
will converge to disrupt the past 200 years of some of the distribution systems. These pipes are practically
largest industries known to man.
unbreakable because of excellent impact strength

35 Januar y 2018 Plastics News