New Delhi, Jan 15 (PTI) India's chemical market is projected to reach over USD 300 billion by 2030, from nearly USD 150 billion currently, global consulting firm BCG said in a report, suggesting domestic
players to take bold measures to cash in on the opportunity.
With India entering a "once-in-a-lifetime capex super cycle in key industries", investing heavily into the "sunrise" sectors, including semiconductors, there is roughly USD 1 billion in addressable opportunity for Indian speciality chemical producers across fabrication-stage inputs, said the report titled 'Building The Next Indian Chemical Giant'.
Homegrown firms would need to choose one big bet that would define the company's portfolio in the 2030s, it added.
"India's domestic chemical market is projected to reach over USD 300 billion by 2030, up from nearly USD 150 billion today," the report said.
This is being driven by a clear domestic consumption which is rising in volume as incomes grow, it said, citing examples of growth in India's beauty and personal care, and the construction sector, where demand for advanced waterproofing, sealants, and performance coating is expanding rapidly.
The report, however, said, "With the domestic market projected to exceed USD 300 billion by 2030, incremental growth is no longer sufficient."
"ChemCos now have capabilities, access to capital, and ambition to grow. Expectations are set for outstanding growth in an accelerating India -- certainly more than momentum. More of the same (value chains, chemistries, and sales models) is not an option," it said.
Asserting that "it is time to think boldly again for the next phase", the report said, "The focus must now be on scale. Real, global scale...It is now time to build real scale for every ChemCo...What succeeded until 2025 will not work for 2030 and beyond."
Commenting on the findings, Amit Gandhi, Managing Director and Senior Partner, and India Lead for Chemicals at BCG India, said, "India's chemical industry is at a decisive inflection point. ChemCos today have the capability, capital, and credibility. What they need next is bold ambition and deliberate choices. The next global chemical giants can be built from India, but not by doing more of the same."
The report noted that in sectors like semiconductor, where India has put in heavy investments, there is a clear opportunity for homegrown firms to tap.
India's semiconductor build-out is happening right now. The global semiconductor market is nearing USD 1 trillion, growing at over 8 per cent annually. India is charting an even faster path -- from policy conception to project execution, the pace has been unprecedented, it said.
"Government incentives now cover the entire value chain -- from fabrication to electronics manufacturing, with fabrication emerging as the most value-added and chemical-intensive segment," the report said.
Fabrication consumes more than 40 highly specialised, ultra-pure chemicals and allied materials: wet-process acids, solvents, photoresist developers, slurries, etchants, substrates, dielectrics, and specialty gases. Yet, despite their criticality, nearly all these inputs are still imported from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Mainland China, it added.
"This gap is a clear whitespace -- roughly USD 1 billion in addressable opportunity for Indian producers across fabrication-stage inputs. Early movers that invest in clean-lab infrastructure, purification systems, and technical tie-ups can credibly enter this chain and aim to build a USD 100-200 million business in a decade," the report said.
BCG India Managing Director and Partner, Amita Parekh, said India already has the capability to compete globally in chemicals, but scale will now be determined by how companies rewire their operating models.
"Improving margins through digital and AI, investing consistently in R and D, and building strong global partnerships are no longer optional -- they are core to long-term competitiveness," Parekh noted.
With rising import dependencies and large gaps in speciality and advanced materials, this is a rare opportunity for Indian players to localise, innovate, and position India as a critical node in global chemical supply chains, she said.
The report also recommended Indian firms to pivot from selling tonnes to solving chemistry problems for customers, place one big decadal bet by integrating into capex supercycles early to capture returns in the 2030s.
It said Indian ChemCos would need to choose where to play and how to integrate, and how much to invest in core value pools, while also suggesting them to scout value in mid-sized European and Japanese firms to acquire select companies, especially family-owned, for IP, brand, and market access. PTI RKL HVA
