Paper industry in India to double in 8 years

The outlook for the paper industry is positive, and is expected to double to reach 20 million tonne over the next eight years, according to KS Kasi Viswanathan, chairman, PaperTech 2012 and deputy managing director of Seshasayee Paper and Boards Limited.

The growth is expected to be driven by the rising demand for paper products, which is majorly supported by various government education programmes, he said.

Now, the concern has moved to becoming more-environmentally viable and sustainable. Adopting clean technology and practicing energy conservation measures is the need of the hour to make the Indian industry world-class and globally-competitive, said R Karikal Valaven, commissioner of industries, AP government.

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has identified the pulp and paper industry as one of sectors to reduce energy consumption by 3-8 per cent by March 2015 under the PAT (perform, achieve, trade) scheme.

“Pulp and paper industry is very complex, and there are more than 100 different product varieties unlike the cement industry. Under the PAT scheme, 31 units have been identified to reduce between 3-8 per cent of their current energy consumption,” he said addressing the gathering at the PaperTech 2012 in Hyderabad.

The sixth edition of the CII PaperTech has been organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry Green Building Centre (CII-GBC) and the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA).