IPMA President: It’s Time to Rethink Paper — Growth and Sustainability Can Coexist

India’s paper industry, like many other sectors in the country, faced a difficult year. Prolonged closures of educational institutions and office spaces placed significant pressure on demand for writing and printing paper.

AS Mehta, President of the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association and Chairman and Managing Director of JK Paper, recently told media that the industry is carrying out its role as an essential services provider, repairing supply chains that had been disrupted and working to restore supply to various sectors.

Papermaking is a key segment of India’s manufacturing base and ranks among the country’s oldest industries. Its estimated turnover stands at 700 billion rupees, with a domestic market size of 800 billion rupees, and its fiscal contribution is around 50 billion rupees; the exchange rate is about 1 Indian rupee ≈ 0.087 renminbi. The sector employs 500,000 people directly and supports about 1.5 million indirect jobs.

The industry aligns with three national goals: education for all, Green India, and rural employment. More than 1.2 million hectares of severely degraded rural land in India are now under pulp plantations, helping advance greening, create rural livelihoods, and raise farmer incomes.

In recent years, the Indian paper industry has moved onto a sustainable development path and become more technologically advanced. Over the past three years, it has undertaken pioneering work in seedling cultivation, developing saplings that resist disease and drought and can grow under diverse agro-climatic conditions.

Yet challenges remain. India is a fiber-deficient country, and insufficient domestic raw material supply is the main constraint on the growth of its paper industry.

Under Free Trade Agreements, paper exported to India benefits from a zero-tariff policy, which places the domestic industry at a severe disadvantage. In recent years, the sector has made notable strides in technological upgrading, process optimization, and adoption of best practices. Over the past five to seven years, more than 250 billion rupees have been invested in high-efficiency capacity and green, clean technologies. In the past five years, energy consumption in the industry has fallen by about 20%. India’s integrated paper mills convert more than 40% of electrical energy by using biomass in the pulping process. A few years ago, producing one ton of paper required 200 cubic meters of water; integrated mills have now reduced that to below 50 cubic meters.

AS Mehta believes the phrase “save paper, protect the environment” is semantically inappropriate. Despite misleading claims from vested interests, few industries in India can match the sustainability profile of paper. Paper is fully biodegradable and recyclable, while its raw materials are renewable and sustainable.

Unlike many industries, papermaking not only protects the environment but also regenerates natural resources. It recovers most waste paper and recycles agricultural waste that would otherwise be burned in fields. Greater use of paper can significantly reduce e-waste and single-use plastics, two of the world’s most pressing environmental problems. In effect, the paper industry has achieved a sound balance between growth and sustainability. Innovation is emerging as a new frontier for the sector, and multifunctional paper in various forms is opening more possibilities for modern life.

——This article is reproduced from China Packaging Network (pack.cn), original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-377927.html