Raw Materials
Kwan Booth
India is a country rich in resources, and as the global marketplace shifts and countries and multinational corporations alike look for new sources of materials, India is emerging as an attractive choice for a wide range of items,from raw materials to pharmaceuticals.
The demand for raw materials has turned many eyes to India in the last several years. Many materials, including Indian brass, ores, slag, and ash have seen an increase in market share. As India’s international profile increases, China has emerged as a key partner with exports of raw materials averaging $4 billion a year, overtaking Brazil and Australia as the largest suppliers to China’s market.
India is also considered one of the leading exporters of antique brass hardware in the world. Items from “The Brass City” of Moradabad and creations from the tiny village of Pembarti are world renowned for their beauty and durability.
The high demand for raw materials has turned some eyes to the sustainability sectors as well. Further strengthening it’s Chinese ties, exports by organic chemicals suppliers from India to China has been growing steadily by nearly 40 percent annually.
Another sector to experience a notable increase is the field of biodegradable plastic. With the demand for plastic in India nearing 8 million tons from 2006-2007, this consumption has caused some companies to increase their search for raw materials for making biodegradable plastic.
To this end, scientists at the Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI) in Thiruvananthapuram have been working on types of biodegradable plastics using starchy material derived from tapioca and other tubers that has been known to degrade in just six months.
Pharmaceuticals
In addition to the demand for raw materials and a new interest in materials innovation, India’s business sector is also increasing it’s stake in other areas-namely pharmaceuticals.
Since the 1960’s, when India’s government began to see drug manufacturing as an area with long term financial gains, the country has taken steps to solidify it’s industry position.
When The Patents Act of 1970 removed many food and drug restriction, several multinational corporations left the country, concerned about the possibility of competition in their fields. This provided an opportunity for Indian companies, who developed ways to successfully reverse engineer many popular drugs and offer them at much lower prices.
While India’s pharmaceutical manufacturers have developed a strong reputation for their low cost products, recent legislation hopes to clear the way for the country to emerge as a powerhouse in drug innovation and for it’s usages of pharmaceutical raw materials.
In late February 2009, India’s Department of Pharmaceuticals announced a proposal to offer $2 billion annually as incentives for domestic chemical companies and multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers to focus on discovering news drugs, invest in high-risk research and protect costly research data. If past successes are any indication, it is only a matter of time before Indian companies stake a claim on this lucrative field as well.
