Articles covered in this issue:
Near Stagnation in the Growth of Indian Chemical Industry- Why? – What
Remedy?
– N S Venkataraman- Founder and Director, Nandini Consultancy Centre
Despite the continuing confidence of manufacturers, there are several constraints confronting the Indian Chemical Industry. Read this interesting article that analyses the problems faced in the chemical industry and the possible solutions recommended to address the growth stagnancy in the Industry.
CEO’s Forum
Chemical Industry Digest quizzed the CEOs and industry captains of leadings companies to obtain their views on the challenges faced by the industry and the possible solutions to address these problems in the new decade.
Indian Pharmaceutical Industry, Opportunities and Challenges in the New Decade
– Dr. M.D Nair, Consultant
The Indian Pharmaceutical Industry is one of the leading industries when it comes to manufacturing and developing generic medicines. However, the industry has to provide medicines to the entire population cost-competitively. This situation presents an opportunity for the Pharma Industry to cater to the masses with the challenges that come with it, which is highlighted in the article.
LNG Markets- A Global Perspective & Future Outlook
– Thomas Mathew, Antony Francis – Reliance Industries Limited
Due to increasing energy consumption and pressure of climate in the world, the companies are transitioning from coal & oil to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). The article provides a very comprehensive global overview of the LNG industry, the challenges in cost-competitiveness, transport and enabling policies needed to make it compete with coal.
Overview of Indian Fertilizer Industry
– R G Rajan, D Deshmukh – Independent Consultant
India is the largest importer and second-largest consumer of fertilizers in the world. Several initiatives are being taken by the Government to enable capacity building for ammonia/urea as well as provide subsidises to the farmers. This article describes the policies, challenges, and way-forward in detail.
‘Bridging the Gap’ Between Chemical Industry and Academia in India through Open Innovation
– Piyush Dietmar Hueglin- Head- Innovation Campus (Mumbai), BASF
Academia and industry are two different worlds operating at different pedestals with different ideologies and purposes. Considering the need for exponential changes to tackle the real-world challenges, these two entities must collaborate to innovate market-relevant solutions. The article describes the concept of ‘Open Innovation’ that encourages collaboration of academic research with industrial R&D to deliver successful outcomes for growth and profitability.
Digital Future of Offshore Oil & Gas Technology
– Jyoti Prakash- Analyst, ARC Advisory
Industry 4.0 is expected to create paradigm-changing revolution in the chemical industry. Adopting digitization acts as a huge accelerator for the future of the oil and gas industry in terms of high productivities and efficiencies. The author reviews how digitization can benefit the offshore oil & gas technology and what companies can do to digitize.
Hydrogen: Bridge between Renewable Energy and Fossil Fuels HFC- Hydrogen Fuel Cells for Stationary & Mobility Applications
– R. R. Sonde- Executive Vice-President, Thermax
Hydrogen is known as the cleanest fuel. This article reviews the imperatives for hydrogen-based energy systems and the developments in utilizing ‘Hydrogen’ as a credible option for large scale energy storage with lesser impact on the environment.
Digital Disruption in the Lab, the R&D of Tomorrow
– Dr. Brend Elser, Andreas Pohl, Daniel Delreu, Michael Ulbrich, Dr. Sven Bugarski – Accenture
With digital technologies in full bloom, it is time that the latest suite of digital technologies are employed in R&D Labs – which will definitely provide multitude of benefits. This article elaborates the roadmap of the same.
How Chemical Companies Benefit from the Experience Economy
– Stefan Guertzgen- Independent Consultant
Experience plays a pivotal role in fostering business engagement in the chemical sector which is a knowledge and capital-intensive industry. The author elaborates on how digital technologies can help in bridging the ‘experience gap’ and its benefits to the chemical industry.
Chemingineering- Seabed Mining
– K Sahasranaman- Independent Consultant
With the rise in demand for minerals and metals and the threat of elements being endangered, there’s a resurgence of interest in exploration of marine mineral resources. Our columnist provides an overview on how polymetallic nodules are emerging as an alternative to Cobalt & Nickel and advancements in plans to harvest ores from the seabed.