Over the past twelve years, the Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals (DCPC), under the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, has worked through policy reforms, infrastructure building, skill development, quality improvements, and investment promotion for the sector. These efforts have fed into domestic manufacturing, innovation, jobs, and investment, all tied to the broader goals of Viksit Bharat @2047 and Atmanirbhar Bharat.
Training farmers and industry on chemical safety
The Chemical Promotion and Development Scheme (CPDS), which sits under a New Scheme, has backed the sector through conferences, exhibitions, training sessions, studies, and awareness campaigns.
DCPC has also pushed for safer pesticide use through HIL (India) Limited and the Institute of Pesticide Formulation Technology (IPFT), both under the Department. These two have run farmer training programmes promoting Integrated Pest Management to cut pesticide residue in food grains, oils, fruits, and vegetables. So far, more than 250 programmes have reached over one lakh farmers nationwide.
Separately, the Department launched a nationwide training push for workers at Major Accident Hazardous (MAH) Units, focused on handling hazardous safely and cutting workplace risk. The plan is to reach all 2,393 MAH Units over five years, with each session covering 100 participants from 50 units. So far, 21 sessions have run, reaching 1,376 industrial units and training 2,441 people.
Investment zones and quality standards
The three operational (PCPIRs) at Dahej, Visakhapatnam-Kakinada, and Paradeep have pulled in Rs 3.4 lakh crore in investment, created 3.7 lakh jobs, and helped set up more than 2,200 chemical manufacturing units.
To keep quality in check and push back against substandard imports, the Department has rolled out Quality Control Orders over time, with 37 currently in force. On the investment side, India allows 100% FDI under the automatic route for most sectors. FDI inflow between 2014 and 2026 reached Rs. 1,04,895 crore, more than double the Rs. 45,240 crore seen between 2004 and 2014.
Building plastic parks and research capacity
The Department has also grown infrastructure for downstream plastic processing. Ten Plastic Parks have been approved so far, four of which are now fully built, three of them completed just in 2025-26. Alongside this, 18 Centres of Excellence have been set up for research and innovation, together filing 85 patents, publishing over 600 research papers, and producing 105 new technologies and products.
The Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET) has widened its footprint too, adding centres for skilling, plastic waste management, and advanced research. CIPET now runs 51 centres in total, 19 of them added since 2014, including three Plastic Waste Management Centres. It has trained nearly 6.72 lakh skilled professionals, with 5.21 lakh of them coming since 2014, and completed 8.53 lakh technology support assignments during that period.
Key Takeaway: In the Union Budget 2026-27, the government unveiled plans for three Chemical Parks built on a cluster-based, plug-and-play model meant to strengthen local manufacturing and cut import reliance. The Union Cabinet has since approved the BHAVYA Rasayan Scheme to build these parks, backed by over Rs 3,030 crore, with an eye toward supporting circular economy principles across the sector.
MCQ’s:
1. The Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Regions (PCPIRs) currently operational in India are located at:
A. Dahej, Visakhapatnam-Kakinada, and Paradeep
B. Jamnagar, Kochi, and Chennai
C. Mangalore, Haldia, and Nagpur
D. Vadodara, Mumbai, and Tuticorin
2. Which of the following statements is correct regarding India’s chemicals and petrochemicals sector?
A. Foreign Direct Investment is permitted only through the Government approval route.
B. The Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
C. The BHAVYA Rasayan Scheme has been approved to establish three cluster-based Chemical Parks.
D. CIPET functions under the Ministry of Heavy Industries
