Page 7 - Plastics News March 2022

Dear Members,
I am happy to engage with you again with lot of excitement as the celebration of 75 Amrut
th
Mahotsav of India has been celebrated by the MSME Ministry with AIPMA. It is indeed a moment
of pride for AIPMA having a joint function with MSME ministry.

Union Minister of State for MSME Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma graced the Mega summit
on Plastics Recycling & Waste Management at New Delhi. We are fortunate that two schemes
'Sambhav' and 'Svavlamban' were launched by MSME during the event.
With close interaction with the MSME ministry, we understand that the government is very
proactive and has taken steps to help the MSME by launching the Union MSME RuPay Credit
Cards of Union Bank of India. It will provide a simplified payment mechanism to MSMEs to meet
their business related operational expenses with benefit of anytime digital payments, interest free
period and will carry interest rate similar to the rate charged for Loans.
MSMEs will get specially curated efficient business services on this card which will help them in
taking their business on most of the digital platforms. We all should take advantage of this activity.
We have also communicated to the Ministry with several suggestions for ease of business in the area
of quick finance by having major corporates and local bodies like Municipalities for mandatory
registrations on TREDS platform.
We also had a Mega Summit on Plastics Recycling & Waste Management jointly with Ministry of
MSME on 4th & 5th March, 2022 at Hotel The Lalit, New Delhi. The event was great success
and showcased several opportunities emerging in Circular Economy. The few important points
that emerged were that there is a very big opportunity which is already budding for the start-ups
in the Waste Collection, Segregation, Recycling and end of life solutions. As many has 7-8 start
ups showcased their activity with innovative ideas and business models which was an eye opener to
all of us as a sign of changing India. It was also recognized to solve the Waste problem of India, we
require around 1500 high capacity high technology recycling plants wherein; today we have only 20
big high tech plants for recycling of plastic waste, where there is an immense headroom opportunity
for us to capture.
Coming to Government Advocacy, AIPMA had several meetings with Shri Piyush Goyal, Commerce
Minister and with the new Secretary DCPC Ms. Aarti Ahuja wherein Industry issues were put
forward and very well received by the Government, result of which there is an extension granted for
BIS Standards for Raw Material Reports. Our very strong representations were put forward with full
strength for “One India One Policy” as far as environment issues are concerned.
Looking at the current Ukraine issue, the sudden surge in the Crude and Petrochemical prices
giving effect to sudden jump in the raw material prices is really going to be an issue of concern and
manufacturers having pre-commitments with the customers will be facing a lot of problems. The
volatility in raw material prices and geopolitical situation is going to be a challenge for the plastic
industry MSME units to deal with it. However, in the past we were successful to manage it and I
am sure to deal with it.
With this belief, I bring this Presidents message to an end.
Looking forward to engage with you next month with updates and my views in the Industry scenario.
Thanking you,
Kishore P. Sampat
president@aipma.net

7 PLASTICS NEWS March 2022