On 19 October, India’s Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Ananth Kumar and his wife Tejaswini Kumar were warmly greeted by the organizers of K exhibition in Dusseldorf, Germany as they arrived at the world’s largest exhibition on plastics. The minister was welcomed by Joachim Schafer, managing director of Messe Dusseldorf, and Thomas Schlitt, managing director of Messe Dusseldorf India as he inaugurated the formidable Indian presence at the show at the joint pavilion of Indian exhibitors, organized by the Plastindia Foundation—the apex body of the plastics industry in the country.
Kumar preferred to address many of the 100 plus Indian exhibitors on the show floor itself. Speaking to the large gathering near the Plastindia stand, Kumar said, “The Indian plastics industry, which is growing more than 10%, is a significant contributor to the country’s GDP. It is making several contributions to government programs, including the Swacch Bharat [Clean India campaign], Make in India, Digital India and Smart Cities initiatives. Plastics are also needed for irrigation programs and agricultural growth.”
enthusiastic exhibitors from India
Committed to the growth of the Indian plastics industry, the minister spent half a day at the K exhibition making good on his commitment to lead the Indian delegation to the fair. He visited the Indian stands, including those of the Indian Oil Corporation, accompanied by officials from the Departments of Chemicals and Petrochemicals and the Department of Chemicals and Fertilizers. The delegation also included the Consul General of India to Germany, Raveesh Kumar. The minister moved quickly through the exhibition, sharing that he has learned to move fast to make up for the disparity in resources in comparison with his electoral opponent in the Bengaluru South constituency.
Plastindia International University to come up in Vapi
The Plastindia Foundation, which received the minister at K, organizes the world’s third largest plastics exhibition known as Plastivision, which is next scheduled to take place in Ahmedabad in 2018. Almost simultaneously, the organization is planning the Plastindia International University, which is said to be the only plastics university in the world on an already allotted 37-acre plot of land near Vapi, Gujarat. The project was recently notified under the Gujarat Private Universities Act.
According to the president of Plastindia Foundation, KK Seksaria, the founders of Plastindia International University have already signed an MoU with the University of Massachusetts, Lowell in the U.S. for assistance in the development of a strong academic program for both management and engineering in the plastics industry. The founders have an ambitious plan to focus on the sustainable growth of plastics with considerable academic and research focus on waste management and renewable energy.
