Page 7 - Plastics News March 2020

THE PRESIDENT
SA
YS
THE PRESIDENT SAYS

Leading From The Front

take great pleasure to inform you that AIPMA is working for the MSME Industrial Partners
I with great vigour. Despite the clamp downs and compliances put across the states on
Plastic, we are confident about the growth of plastic products and the industry doubling up
its volume to Rs 5 lakh crore by 2025.

We presented recommendations before the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
Union Minister Shri. Nitin Gadhkari on various issues like to ease out the Cluster Development
Programme (CDP), setting up of testing labs for new machinery, initiation of the Technology
Upgradation Fund (TUF) to name a few. The Minister also indicated that new projects are being
floated into the domain of biopolymers and strong trade associations like AIPMA should take
plunge into beginning initiatives with waste picker groups and formal training of hands into
plastic recycling. Also, AIPMA is relentlessly working with small players and the government JAGAT KILLAWALA
to plan SOPs in such a way that import duty on raw material is not hiked in the budget to
be presented on July 5th, 2020. The association also urged the government to increase the
customs duty on finished goods to 20 percent so as to stop imports of cheap and unsafe
materials. Moreover, there should be an imposition on anti-dumping or safeguard duty on
import of cheap finished plastic goods in order to maintain the minimum gap in customs duty
between raw materials and finished goods at 12.5 percent.
I am proud to announce as the President that AIPMA is also in close-door talks with the apex
policy-making think tank of the India Niti Aayog, to unfurl a flagship service under the ‘Atal
Innovation Mission’ commencing from the month of April in Mumbai and Gurgaon to serve the
industry members directly. It will ensure promotion of innovative ideas and entrepreneurial
training to help in upskilling the youth and nurture them for industrial employment. And to
further our aim of achieving this, AIPMA’s tie-up with EXPLORRA education centres will also
benefit us in this endeavour. Our new programme aimed at launching professional courses,
in 3D printing, VFX, graphic designing and much more will give an exciting new vision to our
industrial community.
I also take this as the opportunity to announce that due to health hazards faced by the people
due to COVID-19, we have decided to postpone AIPMA’s 75th Platinum Jubilee celebration to
August 2020. I request all of you to be safe indoors and take minimum risk by not exposing
yourself to public places.
The economic slowdown is certainly visible across all industries, however, I am sure that the
fast-growing plastics industry will bounce-back and contribute to the country’s $5 trillion
economy in the near future. We shall keep urging the government to support MSMEs in terms
of good infrastructure, easy financing and favourable regulatory policies.

Jagat Killawala
president@aipma.net

7 March 2020 Plastics News