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Alkali BulletinAlkali Bulletin(For Restricted Circulation) March 2020Volume XLII No. 03

Dear Reader,

The nationwide lockdown announced by the government from midnight of 24th March for three weeks to control the spread of covid-19 infections virtually froze all activities except for essential and certain other specified services and activities. The alkali industries were also among the industrial activities that were suspended by this notification though it exempted continuous process industries. AMAI took up with the government at the Centre and various States seeking consent to operate our plants before permissions were progressively given. The varying interpretations of Centre’s order and the requirement of obtaining consents from the local administration caused much hardships to the industry.

AMAI has been in constant touch with DCPC, MoHFW, MHA, NDMA and other ministries/ departments reassuring them of adequate availability in supplies of disinfection chemicals like sodium hypochlorite, bleaching powder, chlorine, etc. We also started disseminating information on safe handling and usage of these chemicals. As part of AMAI’s outreach programme, we were contacting all water treatment plants and their departments seeking information on availability of chlorine and providing assistance as required. Among the first steps we took was to prepare a pooled list of safety experts from the industry and sharing their contact information with all water works and municipal bodies for emergency assistance.

The alkali industry came forward to join hands with the government in combating the spread of infections by supplying chemicals in large quantities. The industry scaled up production of sodium hypo and other chemicals to meet the rising demand, tying up logistics and supply chains as part of the containment strategy.

Even as most industries were shut and there were stringent restrictions on transportation, the alkali industry geared up to meet the new challenge and maintaining steady supplies.

With prediction of a prolonged ‘battle’ against the virus, the economy could take a severe hit. The imposition of restrictions in the last week of March 2020 largely left FY 2019-20 unaffected. However, the new financial year starting April 2020 could be among the worst beginnings for the economy and the country as a whole in many years.

K. Srinivasan Secretary General

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I. ARTICLES & FEATURES

AMAI Increases Outreach Activity for Chlorine Disinfection and Combating COVID-19 1

Inspection of Heat Exchangers – Dr. S.K. Chakravorty, Consultant (Plant Engineering) 2

The Vital Role of the Chemical Industry in Tackling Covid-19- Mr. Ravi Raghavan, Editor, Chemical Weekly 10

Clean water and sanitation need to dominate market 12

thyssenkrupp commissions Phosphoric Acid plant for Coromandel International at Vizag 14

A Report on Observation of 49th National Safety Day by Member Units 15

Beacon-Messages for Manufacturing Personnel 17

II. NEWS DIGESTGeneral

Exports head towards contraction as orders from US, Europe vanish 19

7.1% CAGR growth in trade with FTA & PTA partner countries 19

Covid-19: India urges FTA partners to temporarily allow imports without certificate of origin 19

Help desk for exporters 20

Covid-19: New Foreign Trade Policy on April 1 seems a difficult proposition now 20

Govt. eases import restrictions for certain chemicals, aviation gasoline Stepping into China’s shoes 20

Saudi Aramco reports 20.6% drop in 2019 profit over low prices, production 21

Construction, transport, chemical manufacturing likely to be worst-affected, says report 21

Exports increase 2.9% in Feb, but outlook grim on coronavirus scare 22

Exporters seek duty reduction, logistics support from Centre 22

Coronavirus Impact: Exports of key intermediate goods to China falter in January 22

Trade impact of coronavirus epidemic for India estimated at $348 million: UN report 22

Manufacturing may get leg-up from China woes 23

Factory activity growth slows in February, PMI at 54.5; coronavirus outbreak hits business sentiment 23

India Inc moves to fill void left by China in wake of coronavirus woes 23

Chemicals and Petrochemicals

Chemicals manufacturers brace for drop in revenues: CRISIL SME Tracker 24

Speciality chemicals firms see gains from coronavirus scare as orders rise 24

Member Units

GACL starts expanded stable bleaching powder plant in Dahej 24

Meghmani Organics sees no major impact of Covid-19 on its business 24

Punjab Alkalies & Chemicals: Disinvestment process 25

CONTENTS

Chlorine Emergency Response Network Toll free no. 1800-11-1735

AMAI

Alkali makers moot rallying chlorine in anti-COVID war 25

Chlor Alkali & the fight against COVID – 19 25

III. NOTIFICATIONS/PRESS RELEASES/ MEMORANDA

Initiation Notification dated 02.03.2020 issued by Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Department of Commerce (Directorate General of Trade Remedies) - Initiation of Countervailing Duty/Anti-Subsidy Investigation concerning imports of Soda Ash originating in or exported from Turkey 26

Notification No. 05/2020 dated 07.03.2020 issued by Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue – imposition of antidumping duty on imports of CPVC (Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride) originating in, or exported from China PR and Korea RP 30

Alkali Bulletin March, 2020

Disclaimer: Information published in this magazine is reproduced from various sources. Every effort is made to minimize errors while reproducing for publication in Alkali Bulletin. However, readers are requested to verify and make appropriate enquiries and satisfy themselves about the veracity of information published in this magazine before use. The publisher or AMAI will not be responsible for decisions taken by readers based on information published in Alkali Bulletin.

With new studies pointing to chlorination of water as an effective way to combat novel Corona virus COVID-19, the Alkali Manufacturers Association of India (AMAI) is kicking off a year-long outreach programme beginning World Water Day (March 22). The programme, aimed at raising awareness on chlorination of drinking water for disinfection and improving access to safe drinking water, will entail close liaison with Public Health Engineering Departments (PHEDs) and municipal bodies across different States in the country. AMAI is the august body of manufacturers engaged in production of inorganic chemicals such as caustic soda and soda ash, with chlorine as a by-product. “Our confidence stems from the successful training sessions on water chlorination and chlorine safety carried out in several States in the last few months in association with municipal bodies. We firmly believe the disease burden owing to water-borne diseases can be significantly brought down through chlorine disinfection. This also ties in with achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030,” said Mr. Jayantibhai Patel, President, AMAI.

COVID-19 sensitivity to chlorineThe States where AMAI has recently conducted training sessions on disinfection through water chlorination

and chlorine safety include Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Meghalaya, Telangana and Goa. “The outbreak of COVID-19 has come as a challenge. As other human coronaviruses have been shown to be sensitive to chlorination, the COVID-19 virus is likely to be more sensitive to chlorine,” Mr. Patel said. The World Health Organisation (WHO), in its technical paper released in March titled ‘Water, sanitation, hygiene and waste management for the COVID-19 virus’ has stated that the provision of safe water, sanitation and hygienic conditions is essential to protecting human health during all infectious disease outbreaks, including the COVID-19 outbreak. WHO guidelines recommend chlorination with a 0.5-ppm free residual chlorine in water distribution for disinfection. “AMAI members are making adequate availability of chlorine at all locations to meet the enhanced demand for drinking water disinfection and the alkali industry is fully committed to supporting the government’s effort,” stated Mr. K. Srinivasan, Secretary General, AMAI.

According to AMAI, in India, 163 million people lack access to safe water. The World Bank estimates that 21% of communicable diseases in India are linked to unsafe water and the lack of hygiene practices. Further, more than 500 children under the age of five die each day from diarrhoea in India alone. Though the disease burden in India due to unsafe water and sanitation dropped from 13% in 1990 to 5% in 2016, still it is very high. Per capita disease burden in India is 40 times higher than China and 12 times that in Sri Lanka. Therefore, it is time to scale up efforts to use chlorine for disinfection, AMAI stated. AMAI is advocating use of chlorine to disinfect drinking water and waste-water. The association has been imparting free training to government and municipal water treatment and sewage treatment personnel on chlorination techniques and safe handling of chlorine. Use of sodium hypochlorite solution and calcium hypochlorite solution have been recommended by WHO, UNICEF and Government of India for cleaning of disinfected surfaces, disposal of used infected masks and for sanitation and hygiene. “The chlor-alkali industry also produces sodium hypochlorite and calcium hypochlorite and the industry is fully geared to meet the rise in demand,” AMAI stated.

AMAI Increases Outreach Activity for Chlorine Disinfection and Combating COVID-19

Alkali Bulletin March 2020 |1

Introduction:Heat exchangers are one of the very vital equipment deployed in numerous process plants. With an increasing focus on energy efficiency, operating economy and safety, the benefits achieved from baseline inspection and condition monitoring of these critical equipment is evident.

Examination and condition monitoring of heat exchangers are performed using a variety of techniques. Selection of the best suited technique depends on whether the objective is fabrication control, preventive in-service inspection, or inspection due to failure as for example leakage, and depends on the type of defects which is expected to be detected by the examination.

This paper presents: Heat exchanger inspection planning and scheduling, inspection data analysis, a template of standard inspection procedure, and a range of Non-destructive Testing (NDT) methods and techniques which can be applied in the examination of tubes and shell in heat exchangers.

Heat Exchanger Inspection Planning and Scheduling:Like with most equipment, inspection planning is essential for the successful inspection and maintenance of heat exchangers. The planning process starts by finding out what data is needed from the inspection. Once that’s known, it is possible to choose the most appropriate Non-destructive Examination (NDE) technique for the examination. Once a technique has been picked then it’s important to decide how clean the shell surface and the tube bundle should be. The planning should conclude by determining the correct type of testing and amount of follow-up needed (frequency of insoection).

There are at least four common methods of scheduling heat exchanger inspections: time-based, condition-based; risk- based, and consequence based. Of these methods, time-based is probably the oldest and simplest. It involves scheduling inspections based on the date and is commonly connected with maintenance opportunities such as turnarounds. Condition-based is the second-oldest method and involves scheduling inspections based on deterioration rates. Risk-based scheduling is the newest method. It involves planning inspection based on shell and tube condition, so that higher risk tube bundles and shells are inspected more frequently than lower risk ones. Finally, consequence-based scheduling is an offshoot of the risk-based method of scheduling heat exchanger inspections. As the name implies it is primarily based on the impact of heat-exchanger failure on the business when deciding how often to inspect the same

Heat Exchanger Inspection Data Analysis:When selecting an inspection technique, the choice should be largely based on how the data from the inspection is planned to be used. If qualitative data on tubular thickness is needed then a more qualitative screening should be used. If, to give another example, calculations need to be made to get reasonably accurate corrosion rates, then a quantitative method should be chosen.

A good tip is to, when calculating corrosion rates, establishing a threshold (retirement) thickness first. This serves to signal when it’s time to replace tubes or even the entire bundle. The retirement thickness can depend on many factors, such as the risk or consequence of a tube leak. For

INSPECTION OF HEAT EXCHANGERSDr. S.K. Chakravorty, Consultant (Plant Engineering)

example, if a bundle failure would be hazardous to safety or the environment, then a higher retirement thickness would minimize the chance of a leak before re-tubing. For those with lower risks, lower retirement thickness values could be established.

Inspection Procedure for Heat Exchangers:Purpose:

Establishing inspection guidelines to ensure mechanical integrity and continued reliable operation of heat exchangers. This procedure applies to the pressure containing parts of the exchanger along with supporting structures.

References:

The following references will be needed to carry out the inspection of heat exchangers:

• Corporate safety procedures should be referred to for all safety related issues.

• National Board Inspection Code ANSI-NB-23, latest edition.

• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Section-viii & ix.

• Applicable local State and Federal regulations.

• Applicable Engineering Standards & Practices API.

• Applicable Maintenance Inspection Procedures.

• Vendor drawing for the vessel being inspected.

Precautions: The authorized inspector should assure that all work permits, isolation and entry procedures/permits are taken.

Prerequisites: Prior to any inspection, a review should be done regarding equipment files and databases such as:• Inspection history

2 | Alkali Bulletin March 2020

• Current mechanical design requirements

• Previous repair history• Re-rating history material

degradation• Corrosion rates

The authorized inspector should take into consideration operating conditions and the process chemistry to which the equipment is subjected, to determine the potential degradation mechanisms.

Procedure: The procedure of the inspection process comprising of: 1) External inspection, 2) Internal inspection, 3) Inspection interval, 4) Repairs and alterations, 5) Nonconformities, 6) Reports, and 7) Documentation, are described below:

1. External Inspections:• The authorized inspector should

examine platforms, ladders, stairways, and their supports (including fireproofing), to assure their serviceability.

• The concrete pedestals, foundations and steel structures should be examined for cracks, chips, spalling, or deterioration. Grounding connections should be inspected to ensure that they are attached.

• The authorized inspector should ensure that the exchanger is properly stamped or identified.

• Nozzles should be examined for distortions, cracks, corrosion and any other degradation. Reinforcements should be examined for evidence of leakage. While carrying out inspections, the weep holes should be kept open.

• Examinations should be made to determine the header boxes wall thickness, shell and channel wall thickness using ultrasonic gauge. Applicable thickness data should be entered into the equipment database and significant wall thickness loss if any should be assessed.

• The inspector should examine the surfaces of the shell channel covers and heads for possible cracks, bulges, and other evidence of deterioration. Attention should also

be given to support saddles and other external supports.

• If access is provided, examination of fan blades and hubs may be carried out for locating cracks.

• Examination of hold down bolting arrangement-slot should be done to ensure them free of any loose material so that thermal growth is not restricted.

• Paint coating should be examined for blister as chipping of the same will cause corrosion of the shell. Insulation and metal jacketing should be examined for sealing integrity and for indications of corrosion under insulation.

2. Internal Inspection: Internal inspection should be performed by or under the directions of an authororized inspector as defined by the code. An external inspection should be performed in conjunction with each internal inspection. The following internal inspection is recommended:

• The inspector should examine the internal walls of the shell, channel and nozzles for cracking, pitting, general corrosion and erosion. Indications should be quantified through the use of pit depth gauges, or ultrasonic instruments (straight or angle beam). Locations and depths should be plotted on an equipment drawing.

• Scales build up or sludge deposits should be noted along with their location on the shell or nozzle.

• All gasket surfaces should be examined for any signs of damage.

• Examine condition of pass partition plate and weldments (typically for cracking) and gasket surfaces for metal loss.

•When the tube bundle is removed from the shell, a visual examination should be done before cleaning, noting the amount of scale, sludge and fouling products. Also, note if variation of deposits exist along the length of the tube bundle.

• Baffles and tie-rods should be examined for loose nuts as well

as metal loss. Also check for tube OD wear where they pass through baffles.

• Verify proper location of impingement plate and for tube OD erosion in the vicinity of inlet nozzles.

• After the bundle is cleaned, a thorough examination should be performed on tubes, tube ends and tube sheets for pitting, thinning and general corrosion. A representative portion of the above should be measured using appropriate instruments. Data should include ID and OD tube measurements, and pit depths. Findings should be noted on equipment drawing.

• Metallic and non metallic linings (e.g. strip and plate linings, overlays, internal coatings, refractory linings, etc) should be examined during internal inspection of the shell.

• The inspection scope and methods recommended in APIRP 572 for metallic and non-metallic linings should be followed to assess the condition of the lining and the shell surface beneath.

• A visual inspection of the accessible internal lining should take place at each internal inspection interval. The lining should be inspected for damage such as separation, bulging, spalling, holes, blisters, cracks, chipping, and erosion.

• If lining damage is detected, representative portions of the internal liner should be removed to assess the condition/effectiveness of the liner and the metal beneath the lining. Alternatively, ultrasonic scanning from the external surface may be used to assess the damage beneath the lining.

• Thermography/Infra-red (IR) scanning is an accepted on-stream inspection method to detect refractory damage and should preferably be carried out.

3. Inspection interval: Inspection intervals for shell and tube heat exchangers should be in accordance with pressure vessels as defined by API 510 Vessel


Inspection Code. Generally, this says that inspection should be carried out in the intervals of 5 years. However the frequency of inspection could be fixed based on the actual operating condition of the heat exchanger and the criticality of the process where it is being used.

4. Repairs and Alterations: » All repairs and alterations

performed on shells, channels and heads should be done in accordance with Maintenance Procedure; Vessel Repair/Alteration Procedure such as MNT-INSP-015.

» Repairs to bundles (tube plugging) or bundle replacements are to be documented by the inspector in the equipment file/history. Location of plugged tubes should be mapped on the heat exchanger tube-sheet drawing along with date of plugging.

» All repairs, whether to shell or tube bundle, are to be approved by the authorized inspector or maintenance engineer.

» Repair, alteration and bundle replacement documentation should be kept in the Reliability Equipment Files or Plant Condition Monitoring System in the user organization.

5. Nonconformities: Any change in the condition of an item described on the original manufacturer’s data report or repair/alternations report affecting the pressure containing capability of the heat exchanger will become nonconformity and should be reported. The same will be reviewed by a designated technical team who will make repair or alteration recommendations in accordance with Maintenance Procedure to assure continued integrity and code compliance. Nonconformance issues should be forwarded to the top management of the user

organization if proper resolution is not being taken in a timely manner.

6. Inspection Reports: The following should be indicated in the inspection report:

• Recommendations and repairs completed during current maintenance event.

• The condition of the following bundle components should appear in the inspection report:

A. ID and OD of tubes.B. Condition of face, baffles and

gasket surfaces.C. Condition of floating head (ID

and OD, pass partitions, gasket surfaces)

D. Condition of spacers, impingement plates, etc.

• The condition of the following shell components should appear in the inspection report:

A. Condition of shell body and flanges.

B. Condition of nozzle necks and gasket surfaces

C. Condition of shell cover and gasket surfaces.

D. Condition of small bore taps.• The condition of the following

channel components should appear in the inspection report:

A. Dollar plate (channel cover) and gasket surfaces.

B. Pass partition and gasket surfaces.

C. Nozzle necks and gasket surfaces.

7. Documentation: Inspection reports should become a part of Equipment items progressive inspection records. Documentation and results on inspections should be kept in Reliability Equipment Files and/or in Plant Condition Monitoring System Database. An example of an ‘Inspection Report’ is given in Table-1. The report may consist of: date of inspection, total number of tubes present in the exchanger, total number of tubes inspected, range of percent wall loss suffered by the tubes (e.g. <20%, 20-24%, 25-29%, 30-34%, 35-39%, 40-44%, 45-49%, 50-54%, 55-59%, 60-64%, 65-69%, and >70%), number of blocked tubes, number of plugged tubes, number of inaccessible tubes, ID defects, and OD defects, etc.

NDT Methods and Techniques:By using different NDT techniques, the following advantages can be achieved:

• A variety of defect types can be detected.

• The extent of local or general corrosion can be measured.

• The depth of local or general corrosion can be measured.

Table-1: Inspection Summary Report of heat exchanger tubes


• The remaining wall thickness of different components can be measured.

• Defects can be detected before they cause safety or operational hazards.

• Defects can be detected before they cause unplanned and expensive shut downs.

• Detection of specific defects can provide information of how the operation of the heat exchanger has influenced the condition of the heat exchanger.

• A high examination speed reduces the shut down time.

• The examination data are documented and can be compared with the subsequent examinations to determine the development of detected defects.

• The inspection results can be presented visually in the form of an explicit 3D tube sheet map (Figure-1) which gives a quick survey of the condition of the heat exchanger.

Different NDT techniques that can be commonly applied for inspection and condition monitoring of heat exchangers are: 1) Eddy Current Testing; 2) Ultrasonic Testing; 3) Helium Leak Test; 4) Visual Examination; 5) Thermography/IR-Scanning; and 6) Radiotracer Method, etc. These methods/techniques are briefly described below:

1. Eddy Current Testing/Examination:

For examination of the individual tubes of the heat exchanger, the eddy current technique can be successfully applied. The eddy current equipment used for such inspection is compact and transportable. The eddy current

instruments are multi-frequency units specially developed for tube inspection. The instruments have a build-in hard disk drive for recording of data. The probe drive units are fast and very stable mechanical devices specially developed for field use. Probes in a broad range of diameters are available for inspection of different sizes and capacities of heat exchangers. Tube sizes from 1.5 inches OD and greater can be inspected accurately.

The examination is performed by use of an eddy current probe (bobbin probe) which is inserted into the tube via a probe drive system. When the probe is retracted, the measurements are performed and the data are automatically recorded on strip chart or data disk. Figure-2 shows the inspection being carried out in a heat exchanger during shutdown maintenance.

By the use of different examination modes and multi-frequency technique it is possible to examine the tubes for detection of general and local corrosion or erosion. The technique can detect defects in the tube wall both at the straight part of the tube and at the u-bend as well as in the area below the tube supports. Even bimetallic tubes have been inspected for defects in the inner or outer tube or for defects in the bonding zone between the two materials. The eddy current technique has also been used for detection of unwanted foreign material located on the tubes, to be able to remove the material before any damage to the exchanger occurred.

For examination of the area below the tube sheet, the technique using

a bobbin probe can be applied for detection of tube sheet corrosion or the rotating eddy current probe technique can be used for detection of smaller defects e.g. cracks.

The rotating eddy current probe technique consists of a small surface probe which only covers a small area of the tube and is pulled through the tube during constant rotation. The technique is used supplementary to the standard bobbin probes for locating and analysing small local defects.

Tubes of magnetic material can be tested by eddy current using the saturation technique or the RFET (Remote Field Eddy Current Testing) technique.

Examination is normally carried out by two inspectors and depending on the conditions of work, it is possible to examine up to 1000 tubes per day. The data are evaluated from the strip charts or the disk using a PC based evaluation and reporting software. A sample strip chart showing waveform obtained by using RFET technique indicating localized wall loss of a tube is shown in Figure-3.

Finally the results of the eddy current examination will be presented on a 3D tube-sheet map where different colours are used to visualise the results of the examination. The 3D tube sheet map of a heat exchanger is shown in Figure-1.

2. Ultrasonic Testing:

A. Ultrasonic IRIS Examination:

Ultrasonic Internal Rotating Inspection System (IRIS) is one of the most commonly used methods. Its biggest advantage is that it can detect corrosion on both the internal diameter (ID) and the outside diameter (OD) of the tube, including pit depths and can measure wall thickness fairly accurately. This technique can be applied for all types of tube material.

For examination of the tube wall the IRIS (Internal Rotary Inspection System) probes are used. These probes

Fig-1: 3D Tube-sheet Map of a Heat Exchanger

Fig-2: Eddy Current Examination of Heat Exchanger Tubes


utilise the ultrasonic pulse-echo technique. The ultrasonic transducer is rotated inside the tube and due to the frequency of the transducer and the rotational speed the entire circumference of the tube wall will be examined. When the probe is pulled through the tube a measurement of the wall thickness is performed. The principle of IRIS is shown in Figure-4.

The result of the examination is presented visually showing the unfolded tube wall. The wall thickness can be measured in any point of the tube circumference and at any position of the tube length. Defects will be displayed as they occur on the actual tube in size, propagation and location on the tube wall, i.e. internal or external.

The technique can be applied on straight tubes with internal diameters

from 8 mm to 90 mm. For the larger tube diameters slight bends can also be inspected.

B. Ultrasonic P-Scan Examination:

In this examination, a specially designed ultrasonic scanner is used for examination of the tube-to-tubesheet welds. The scanner is a compact and portable gadget and is inserted into the tube in order to test the condition of the tube-to-tubesheet weldments. The technique provides information of the welding-in height and detects such as lack of fusion as well as pores and inclusions. For all detected defects, the length and position can be determined. The principle of this technique is shown in Figure-5.

C. Ultrasonic Noise Scanning:

Typically, ultrasound leak detection is used to locate leaks where the pressure differential is enough to produce a turbulent flow as the gas moves from the high-pressure to the low-pressure side of a leak. Most often any leak with a rate below 1x10-3 std. cc/sec will not generate a detectable, turbulent flow. For this reason, the

majority of leak applications for ultrasound are limited to leaks above this threshold. One of the advantages of ultrasound is that leak detection is not limited to a specific fluid. The technology is open to identifying leaks in all types of gas and even fluid systems. Figure-6 shows the detection of tube leakage being conducted in a tube bundle.

If the leak rate is less than the threshold level, ‘Liquid Leak Amplifier’, may be used. This incorporates the use of a surfactant with low surface tension. The heat exchanger is pressurized and the liquid is applied to sections of the tube sheet. This is similar in nature to the typical “bubble test” with one exception. The fluid used has low surface tension so that a low-flow leak will form a bubble that will burst almost immediately. This produces a detectable ultrasound which can be detected by the ultrasonic leakage detector easily.

3. Helium Leak Test Examination:

For examination of an entire heat exchanger or a single tube for detection of leaks, the helium leak test is applied. The examination can be performed as an overall test of the entire exchanger for determining whether leaks are present or not. This examination is fast and provides a quick survey of the exchanger. For units under pressure, the helium is added to the shell side of the heat exchanger under examination at a suitable pressure. Measurement at locations where helium may leak is then carried out using ‘Helium

Fig-4: IRIS Ultrasonic Principle

Fig-5: Ultrasonic P-Scan Examination of Tube-to Tubesheet welds

Fig-6: Ultrasonic Leak Detector for checking tube leakage

Fig-3: RFET Report showing wavefom indicating localized wall loss of tube


Portable Mass Spectrometer’. Each tube is tested for the presence of helium by blocking individual tubes with rubber bungs, as shown in Figure-7.

The helium Leak Test method is sensitive to all types of leaks. If leaks are detected as an overall examination, each tube and tube-to-tubesheet weld can be tested individually by Helium Leak Test or by another NDT method. The actual rig used for Helium Leak Test applied for a heat exchanger in a process industry is shown in Figure-8.

4. Visual Examination:

For examination of leaks of process

fluid through tubes or for verifying the results obtained by other NDE methods visual examination can be applied. Figure-9 shows the tube bundle taken out of the shell for visual examination without any aid. However, visual examination can be carried out with visual aids/instrumentation. The visual instrument/equipment used covers both small cameras and video endoscopes with diameters down to 6 mm.

Camera or endoscope is inserted into the tube and the examination of the tube is performed when the camera or endoscope is retracted. The examination can be documented on video tape if desired. This type of examination will reveal the condition of the inner surface of the examined tubes. The extent of scale can be assessed and documented as well as the extent of internal corrosion, general or local. If a tube is blocked the visual examination can reveal the cause of the block up. Figure-10 shows a representative endoscope

video picture of a 15 mm ID tube of a heat exchanger showing internal defects. A typical instrumentation arrangement of endoscopy is shown in Figure-11.

5. Thermography/IR Scanning:

Thermography is a non-destructive, intrusive, noncontact mapping of thermal patterns on the surface of an object. It is usually used to diagnose thermal behaviour and, thereby, to assess the performance of plant and machinery of a continuously running process plant including heat exchangers. This technique is also called as Infrared (IR) Scanning or

Fig-8: Helium Leak Test Examination conducted in a heat exchanger

Fig-9: Tube bundle taken out of the shell for visual examination

Fig-7: Off-line Leak detection in Heat Exchanger using Helium Mass Spectrometer

Fig-10: Endoscope video picture of 15 mm ID tube showing internal defects

Fig-11: Endoscope instrumentation for carrying out visual inspection


Thermal Imaging System as it utilizes a portion of the infrared band of the electromagnetic spectrum of wavelength between approximately 1 and 14 microns. This bandwidth is usually associated with infrared radiated energy produced by object temperatures of -20°C and higher. The instruments used for Thermography is available in numerous configurations with varying degree of complexity. A typical IR Scanning system/instrumentation showing different components such as: optical arrangements, IR detector, sensor electronics, image processor, and video monitor/LCD screen, etc., is given in Figure-12. The thermal maps

produced by infrared thermal imaging instruments are called ‘Thermograms’. The main advantage of this technique is that it is an ‘On-line’ technique and doesn’t need stoppage of the heat exchanger for carrying out inspection, unlike the other four techniques discussed above. It is used to determine restrictions in flow, leakage at connections, leakage throughout the system due to corrosion/erosion/ageing, etc. Thus the shutdown of the heat exchanger/process plant can be planned very precisely based on IR scanning inspection report.

Figure-13 shows the thermograms of a heat exchanger with cracked tubes. Efficiency of the heat exchanger has obviously been compromised.

The cracked and leaking tubes were found on a pre-shutdown inspection. This allowed for the planning and scheduling of tube repairs/replacement to be included in the scope of overall repairs. All repairs can be monitored after start-up to insure quality of repairs and the resulting return to an efficient operation.

Thermography can be applied very effectively for On-line inspection of heat exchangers used as waste heat recovery boilers (WHRB). Generally, the insulation of the shell gets deteriorated on prolonged usage leading to inefficient heat transfer (reduced energy efficiency) and damage of the shell (bulging due to development of hot spot/patch). Figure-14 shows the thermogram of

the shell of a WHRB depicting hot spot/patch. The temperature of the shell should not be more than 130°C (as indicated by blue color). As the refractory lining gets damaged, red hot spots develop (indicating surface temperature of about 150°C. The white patch (about 230-240°C) indicates very poor condition of the refractory and calls for taking a planned shutdown to rectify the refractory lining.

Similarly the condition of the partition between the two tube passes in a shell and tube heat exchanger can be determined by the application of thermography. Figure-15 shows the thermograms of the end plates depicting the thermal profile. The left side shows no distinct thermal demarcation between two top passes, whereas the right side shows distinct demarcation between all the four passes (42°C, 48°C, 51°C, 54°C) of a 1:4 shell & tube heat exchanger (4 pass in tube side and 1 pass in shell side). The right side of the thermal profile was obtained after rectifying the pass partition between two top passes.

6. Radiotracer Method:

Radiotracers are the most sensitive and competitive tools largely used for on-line leak detection in heat exchangers. The success of radiotracer application for leak detection rests upon their high detection sensitivity for extremely small concentrations: for instance, some radiotracers may be detected in quantities as small as 10-17gms (the amounts of radiotracer used are virtually insignificant). That is why, when injected they don’t disturb at all the fluid dynamics inside the heat exchanger under investigation, as well as they don’t spoil the product quality. It enables the measurement of extremely small leak flows up to 10-10 mbar.L/s.

Gamma radiation emitted by the radiotracers penetrate the walls of the heat exchangers and provide information about very small leaks even when direct access to the

Fig-12: Thermal Imaging Camera

IR energy(A) coming from an object is focused by the optics(B) onto an IR detector(C).The detector sends the

information to sensor electronics (D) for image processing. The electronics translate the data coming from the detector into an image (E) that can be viewed in the

viewfinder or a standard video monitor or LCD screen.

Fig-13: Thermograms of Heat Exchanger Tubes—Arrow shows split tubes as cold areas

Fig-14: Thermogram of WHRB Shell showing hot patch formed due to

refractory damage


heat exchanger is not possible due to envelops or other barriers. The emission of radiation is a specific property of the radio isotope, not affected by the interference from other materials in the system (radiotracers have strong resistance against severe process conditions of heat exchangers). As the characteristics of radiations differ from one radioisotope to another, multiple radiotracers may be employed and measured simultaneously if needed to locate the leaks.

Supplementary Examinations:Some supplementary techniques used conventionally for inspecting heat exchangers during shutdown maintenance are described below:

1. Chemical Reagent Tests: some process gases give chemical reactions with simple reagent, e.g. leaking ammonia gas may be detected by its reaction with hydrogen chloride producing dense white fumes of ammonium chloride. This test can be applied for leak detection in heat exchangers as well, but in off-line condition only.

Fig-15: Thermograms of end plate of bad (left) & good (right) operating condition of a 1:4 heat exchanger

2. Overpressure method (bubble test): it is performed by filling the system to be tested with a fluid. Water is frequently used as the fluid. Observing the outside surface, the wetted areas reveal the leaks. Testing with gas, the heat exchanger is subjected to overpressure of some bars (depending on material and wall thickness) and immerged into water. At leak points, the gas bubbles begin to escape. In this manner leaks up to 10-3 mbar.L/s can be detected. If the vessel is too large for immersion, the suspected points should be painted by soap solution and the bubbles can be seen if there is a leak up to the order of 10-5 mbar.L/s. This method can be used in the off-line condition only.

3. Dye-penetrant Method: it is an adaptation of a technique used to find cracks in metals and defects in welds. It uses a low viscosity fluid that exhibits a high rate of surface migration. The fluid is painted on one side of a suspected leak site, and after some time, it is detected on the other side of the wall. This is

also an off-line, simple, low cost test, and the sensitivity of leak detection can be as high as 10-6 mbar.L/s. It is quite often used for detecting the presence of stress corrosion cracking in the heat exchanger tube sheet.

Conclusion:Heat exchangers are used in various industrial applications such as power plants, petroleum, oil and gas industry, chemical process plants, transportation, cryogenic applications, air conditioning and refrigeration units, waste heat recovery systems and other industries. In addition, these are the equipment always closely related to our daily life, for example, evaporators, airpreheaters, automobile radiators, condensers, coolers, etc. These are also very critical from the point of view of: plant operational economy, energy conservation, product quality, downtime cost and safety.

To achieve higher productivity and profitability in the process plats where these heat exchangers are used, it is advisable to inspect this equipment as per the procedure discussed in this article. The NDT methods discussed will be very useful for avoiding unplanned costly forced outages of heat exchangers and for extending the economic life of the same. It is also concluded that on-line condition monitoring method such as ‘Thermography’ and application of ‘Radiotracer’ for leak detection will optimize the operation of heat exchangers.


For the third week running we keep our focus on Covid-19 – the pandemic that has crippled the world and forced all of India to go into an unprecedented 21-day lockdown starting midnight on March 24. The personal, social and professional disruptions caused to more than a billion people is unsurpassed at least in living memory. The economic loss – in terms of wealth destruction and loss in output – is staggering and will only be clear in the months ahead.

Seeking scienceSome things have become starkly evident, as much as the dangers of the virus. Possibly never before has so much of humanity looked to science to deliver. It has become clear that it will be the efforts by hundreds of scientists toiling in laboratories across the world – in academic settings, industrial environments or with health organisations such as the WHO – that will be key to mitigating the effects of the viral infection and eventually in finding a preventive vaccine to guard against future such attacks. All other efforts – social distancing, widespread testing and hygiene maintenance (especially the washing of hands) – while absolutely needed at this point in the crises, are efforts to ‘flatten the peak’ so that patient inflows do not overwhelm the healthcare infrastructure existent in the locality – be it a small town or a large city.

If anything, the coronavirus has shown how important science, in general, and the chemical and biological sciences, in particular, are, and the need for nations – including India – to realign priorities and commit far more to its promotion and of innovations that stem from basic science. At

the corporate level, boards need to show far more support to research and development, and not just pay lip service to the idea merely to gain tax breaks or meet some compliance norms.

The pandemic has also made it apparent that the chemical industry – in its broadest definition – will be key in managing and mitigating the crises, as well as in making and bringing to market any drug or vaccine that researchers are feverishly (no pun intended) working on across the globe. At the stage we are now in India, the chemical industry is vital to maintain the hygiene and sanitation needed – at a personal and public level.

Chlorine chemistry - as a disinfectantStart with the humble chlorine molecule. Considering ‘World Water Day’ just passed unnoticed on March 22, the role of chlorine disinfection for ensuring safety of water is worthy of remembrance. In much of the world –chlorine remains a cheap, readily available and effective disinfectant for potable water (besides its use in treating wastewater). Environmentalists who give chlorine a bad rap, should take note!

Disinfection may be carried out by chemical means using elemental chlorine, chlorine-containing compounds, or ozone, or by physical means using UV radiation or nanofiltration. All the chemical and physical disinfection processes have limitations with respect to effectiveness against certain types of pathogens, cost, ease of operation, or possible environmental or health

impacts by the creation of disinfection by-products. Nevertheless, use of chlorine chemistry has been demonstrated to be a reliable and cost-effective approach to water disinfection, and it is by far the method preferred even in developed countries such as the US and Canada. Furthermore, only chlorine-base disinfectants provide ‘residual disinfectant’ levels that prevent microbial re-growth and adverse health effects as the water moves through the distribution system to the consumer.

The WHO’s guidelines on sanitising surfaces in our homes, offices and hospitals – especially now – emphases use of sodium hypochlorite, another by-product of the chlor-alkali industry. Chlorine is also required for making monochloroacetic acid, a raw material for betaines, widely used as surfactants in several cleaning products including much-needed hand-washes.

Staying with sanitisation, it is relevant to mention that hand-sanitisers, now flying off the shelves, are essentially based on a couple of commodity chemicals – isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and ethyl alcohol – to the extent of about 80% (with some perfume and moisturiser added). India has just one IPA producer, who could not produce enough to meet domestic demand even before the crises, and the surge in demand has forced diversion from other end-uses, including from all-important disinfectants production for hospitals.

Ensuring drugs are availableThere has been much discussion in recent weeks on India’s dependence on China for critical raw materials

The Vital Role of the Chemical Industry in Tackling Covid-19

Ravi Raghavan Editor, Chemical Weekly


required by the pharmaceutical industry. At long last some concrete proposals have come forth from the government aimed at enhancing indigenous production of several active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), their intermediates and key starting materials (KSMs).

While this is a welcome measure, it will make sense to provide a similar kind of package aimed at promoting the indigenous manufacture of several technical agrochemicals, their intermediates and KSMs, as well. It may not seem urgent now, but India’s food security is just as important as its health, and crop protection agents have a critical role to play in ensuring this.

There have been several claims – most yet to be thoroughly vetted – that some well-known chemistries are effective against the coronavirus. Leading the list is hydroxychloroquine. While some limited prophylactic use has been permitted by the Indian Council of Medical Research for healthy care-givers (in hospitals and homes), the handful of companies in India in a position to supply it have seen a flood of enquiries from all parts of the world. In parts of Africa, where the drug is easily available for malaria treatment, they are flying of the shelves as people are hoarding or, even worse, popping the pill.

Should this drug, or for that matter any of the other anti-viral drugs now being evaluated in an accelerated manner in multi-country trials come to be approved, it will send public confidence soaring. For India this will be doubly good news, as unlike biological drugs, the country has excellent manufacturing skills in chemistry-made small molecules and can quickly ramp-up production to

meet what will be explosive demand. Unless supply chain bottlenecks come in!

Maintaining supply chainsThe availability of any drug is dependent on that of their KSMs and several other chemicals (solvents, acids, alkalies etc.). Notwithstanding the fate of the drugs to treat Covid-10, it is clear that several other drugs will be needed in the weeks and months ahead, as immune systems weaken, morbidity rises and patients become susceptible to all sorts of secondary infections. Ensuring their availability will need the smooth functioning of supply chains that are often long and involve chemicals that go through, at times, ten or more chemical conversions before becoming a KSM. Ensuring uninterrupted supplies of all these will be crucial to ensuring there are no shortages of medicines.

The lockdowns that have been affected in most of India do have exemptions for essential supply chains, but it is important that chemical companies are not forced into closure by misguided authorities. There needs to be disaster contingency plan that takes into account all that is needed to maintain essential services, including some chemicals, and these must be prepared at the earliest. Industry associations can play a role in identifying the key chemical industries that are part of these critical value chains and certify them to be so. The agrochemical industry has pointed out that it too needs to be classified as essential commodities as 75% of the annual agrochemical consumption takes place in the kharif season starting May, and this is the time stocks are built.

With the clampdown on inter-State and even inter-district movements of goods and people in Maharashtra and Gujarat – where much of chemical manufacturing take place – there are further risks of disruptions. Availability of tankers, drivers and permissions for them to ply must be ensured in the weeks ahead if serious disruptions to availability of medicines and sanitary products are to be avoided.

Industry, on its part, needs to be responsible and shut operations, unless identified as part of critical supply chains. If the latter, ensuring safety and health of employees – both permanent, or, as is increasingly common, contract workers – should be top-most priority.

The challenge of being normal – our small effortThis magazine has shut all of its offices and printing press, and will be available to you only in an electronic format till the crises abates. Key staff will attempt to put Chemical Weekly together from the safety of their homes, using IT and communication technologies to the best of their abilities and means.

We encourage subscribers to take advantage of their digital access, available at www.ChemicalWeekly.com. We are also opening access of our entire magazine for non-subscribers too, so that everyone can stay abreast of how the chemical and the related industries in India are contributing their mite to fight this blight.

Thank you very much for your support in these challenging times. Stay safe!

(Reproduced with permission from Chemical weekly 31.03.2020)


An industrial valve can be defined as any mechanical or electromechanical device that is used to regulate, divert and control the flow and pressure of liquids, gases and slurries. This is done either by closing/opening or restricting the passage of the fluid or gas. There are different types of industrial valves available, which are used for a widespread range of applications in various end use sectors.

Market ScenarioThe global industrial valves market is expected to witness significant growth during forecast period both in terms of value and volume, according to the

report. Moreover, in 2022, the market is expected to reach $77.74 billion, which can be attributed to the increase in oil & gas exploration activities and rapid development in the pipeline infrastructure for the same. Also the global demand for industrial valves is expected to grow significantly during forecast period and will reach around 190 million units by 2022.

Industry SegmentationThe global industrial valves market is segmented based on product type, application, region and company. Based on product type, the market can be categorized into globe valves, ball

valves, butterfly valves, wedge gate valves, knife gate valves, check valves, diaphragm valves, pinch valves, float valves, air valves, automatic control valves, resilient seal gate valves and others. The global industrial valves segment is expected to dominate the market during forecast period owing to their widespread use in waterways.

Additionally, the increasing need for clean water and sanitation is expected to maintain their dominance during the forecast period. Based on application, the market can be fragmented into oil & gas, refinery, chemical, water, wastewater effluent, power generation, agriculture, mining and others.

The oil & gas industry segment is expected to hold the largest market share of around 21 percent during the forecast period. This can be accredited to the increasing investments in the construction of pipelines in order to ensure effective transportation of oil & gas. Furthermore, increasing production of natural gas due to increasing demand from regions such as North America, Europe, Middle East & Africa etc is further projected to fuel the market during the forecast years.

CompetitionMajor players operating in the global industrial valves market include Emerson Electric Co, Flowserve Corporation, Alfa Laval Corporate AB, Crane Co, CIRCOR International Inc, CURTISSWRIGHT Corp, IMI Plc, MRC Global Inc, Metso Corporation, Neway Valve (Suzhou) Co Ltd, The Weir Group PLC, Velan Inc, ITT Inc, INVINCIBLE Valves (PTY) Ltd, Cameron International, L&T Valves Limited, A C Valves CC, Ainsworth Engineering (PTY) Ltd, AZ-Armaturen South Africa (Pty) Ltd, COBRA ISCA (Pty) Ltd, DUAL Valves (PTY) LTD, eDart Slurry Valves

Clean water and sanitation need to dominate market

Table 1: List of Different Industrial Valves Along with Their Uses/Application

Sr. No Type of Industrial Valve Use/Application

1. Gate Valve These are used in water & wastewater treatment plants.

2. Butterfly Valve These are used in the automotive sector for automobiles and gas engines.

3. Ball Valve These are used in oil & gas, manufacturing & chemical industry.

4. Globe Valve These are generally used for throttling purposes.

5. Check Valve These are generally used to control pressure & backflow in refining, petrochemical, chemical industry and during oil production.

6. Diaphragm Valve These are usually used for corrosive and abrasive applications.

7. Air Valve These are generally used to improve the efficiency of a water system.

8. Resilient Seal Gate Valve These are used in water & wastewater treatment plant

9. Pinch Valve These are used to handle slurries or liquids containing suspended solids.

10. Air-Operated Pinch Valve These are generally used in water & wastewater, mining, cement, paper & pulp industries.

11. Float Valve These are majorily used in water tanks, flush toilets, etc., and mitigate backflow and overflow of fluid from the system.


Pty Ltd, A.R.I. FLOW CONTROL AFRICA (PTY) LTD, FLOVAL Pty Ltd, Ithuba Valves & Industrial Supplies, Paltechnologies Pty Ltd, AVK Holdings SA Pty Ltd, RGR Technologies Pty Ltd, Valco Group SA Pty Ltd, Aveng Manufacturing DFC etc.

Challenges1. Uncertainty in Oil & Gas Prices

The oil & gas industry is expected to dominate the global industrial valves market during the forecast period. However, the slump in crude oil prices and uncertainty in the market are negatively impacting the growth of global industrial valves market.

2. Slowdown in Mining Industry

Mining industry is one of the other

major application areas for industrial valves. The sinking prices of mining commodities such as iron ore, copper and other minerals coupled with the increasing costs of production is expected to slow down the growth of the industrial valves market through 2022.

3. Environmental Policies

Coal fired power plants are also one of the largest applications for industrial valves. However, rising environmental concerns and restrictions & regulatory policies imposed by the governments have limited the use of coal as fossil fuel, thereby impacting the growth of market. For instance, the Chinese government imposed a ban on the construction of coal-fired power plants

in areas with surplus power supplies.

Growth ProspectsThe global industrial valves market is driven by the increasing global demand for energy and growing popularity of petrochemical products across the globe. Additionally, the growing need to develop new water & wastewater infrastructure and upgradation of the existing ones is expected to propel the demand for industrial valves during the next five years. Furthermore, factors such as favourable government policies and increasing FDI inflow in oil & gas sector are projected to drive the market over next five years.

(Reproduced with permission from Chemical Today March, 2020)

Figure 1: Global Industrial Valves Market Size, By Value (USD Billion), By Volume (Million Units), 2017-2022F

CAGR 2017E-2022FBy Value : 4.14%By Volume : 2.59 %

2017E 2018F 2019F 2020F 2021F 2022F

Source: TechSci Research

63.4

7

167.9

7

65.4

1

67.7

7

171.1

6

175.1

5

70.5

7

177.3

4

73.8

8

182.4

4

190.8

9

77.7

4

Value (USD Billion) Volume (Million Units)


thyssenkrupp commissions Phosphoric Acid plant for Coromandel International at Vizag

thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions (India) has successfully commissioned a 450 TPD Phosphoric Acid plant for Coromandel International Limited at their Vishakhapatnam plant in Andhra Pradesh, India.

The scope of the contract, which was awarded in 2017, included arranging of license, know how, Process Design Package, Basic and Detail Engineering, Project Management, Technical Procurement and Supervision during Construction, Start-up and Commissioning.

The plant is based on the dihydrate technology of Prayon, Belgium.

Commenting on the completed plant, Mr. Amir Alvi, Executive Vice-President and Head of Manufacturing of Fertilizers, said “The plant is successfully commissioned and production parameters are being met. We are really pleased with the efforts of the thyssenkrupp team. There has been very good synergy

between thyssenkrupp and the licensor Prayon, and these efforts reflect in the completed plant that is helping us meet our project plans.”

Mr PD Samudra, MD & CEO, thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions (India) said: “Phosphoric Acid is an important requirement in the manufacture of DAP-NPK, which is a Phosphatic fertilizer manufactured by Coromandel International Limited. We have been promoting Phosphoric Acid projects starting from rock phosphate to our Indian customers, based on process know-how of Prayon from Belgium. We are privileged to have been able to support Coromandel International Limited in setting up this project. It makes us proud to have been associated with them for over 2 decades in a variety of phosphatic fertilizer and low-temperature cryogenic storages for Ammonia. The successfully commissioned plant vindicates our expertise in implementing fertilizer projects and the trust placed in us by Coromandel International, a reputed and leading Fertiliser producer in India.’

The plant is functioning smoothly.

About thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions:

The Industrial Solutions business area at thyssenkrupp is a leading partner for the engineering, construction and service of industrial plants and systems. Based on more than 200 years of engineering experience, we supply tailored, turnkey large-scale plants and components for customers in the chemical, fertilizer, cement, mining and steel industries. Around 11,500 employees worldwide form a global network with a technology portfolio that guarantees maximum productivity and cost-efficiency to the highest extent possible.

For more information visit: www.thyssenkrupp-industrial-solutions.com

Press contacts:

thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions (India) Private Limited VK Joshi / Leroy Santos Business Development / Public Relations T: +91 22 4047 8014 - 8015 [email protected] / [email protected] thyssenkrupp blog: https://engineered.thyssenkrupp.com

thyssenkrupp commissions Phosphoric Acid plant for Coromandel International at Vizag


Observation of 49th National Safety Day

Nirma Limited organized 49th National Safety Day celebrations at their works at Bhavnangar, Gujarat. The Company is committed to providing a safe work environment by adopting Safety, Health and Environment Policy. The campaign served to reiterate the commitment of their employees to workplace safely.

The event was attended by 315 participants including regular and contract workers. Mr. Y.M. Patel, Assistant Director ISH, Bhavnagar was the Chief Guest. Mr. A Gorasiya and Mr. S.D. Yadav, officers at ISH Bhavnagar and Mr. S.V. Sonara, Director Nirma Limited graced the function.

The function started with welcome of Chief Guest & other dignitaries and pining the safety badges by Mr. Viren V. Shah, AGM (SHE). The Safety flag was hoisted by Mr. D.G. Jakhade, Vice President. Safety and Swachhta Oath administered by Mr. U.K. Mehta, Manager (SHE) and Chief Guest to all those present. Safety banners and posters were displayed at various locations of the plant.

Mr. Y.M. Patel inaugurated the function. He highlighted the importance of contract workers & their safety. He stressed on the fact that safety is responsibility of everybody and training & development of the workers need to be priority. Mr. S.V. Sonara highlighted the effects of mishaps on employees and their family members. He also emphasized on the execution of monthly safety audit with cross functional team of various departmental HODs/Area In-charge.

Mr. D.G. Jakhade emphasized the need to organize training sessions for employees and contract workers every year. His appeal to all the employees was to deliver all jobs safely. Supervision and monitoring need to followed religiously by Area In-Charge and HODs. He expressed confidence that industry can achieve Zero Accident Goal, if everyone is responsible.

Safety awareness programmes like safety quiz, safety slogan, poem, essay writing, developing safety posters, painting competition, wall painting, good housekeeping contest were organized amongst all company employees, contract workers and school children of Nirma Primary

School, Kalatalav. Safety Badge lucky draw was organized and winners were given prizes and champion with trophy by the dignitaries.

The Chief Guest inaugurated a parallel SHE exhibition which showcased various equipment including personnel protective equipment (PPEs), safety posters, different kinds of fire extinguishers and firefighting equipment.

The function ended with vote of thanks by Mr. S.M. Rohadiya.

Mr. Y.M. Patel, Assistant Director ISH, Bhavnagar, the Chief Guest addressing the participants

Mr. U.K. Mehta (Manager- SHE) administering Safety Oath

Employees taking Safety Oath

Mr. Viren Shah (AGM –SHE) , Nirma Ltd. welcoming the Chief Guest

Nirma Limited, Bhavnagar (Gujarat)


TGV SRAAC Limited celebrated National Safety Day on 04th March 2020 at their Kurnool factory site. Mr. V. Ramakrishna Reddy, Dy. Chief Inspector of Factories, Kurnool was the Chief Guest. He was received ceremoniously at the venue and given guard of honor by security and fire personnel.

Mr. Reddy hoisted the safety flag and inaugurated the exhibition of Personal Protective Equipment. He explained the use of various PPEs and firefighting equipment. The Chief Guest also spoke about various points including unsafe act, unsafe condition, transport safety, imparting training to employees.

Mr. N. Jeswanth Reddy, Executive Director (Tech) presided over the function. Mr. Gantayat, Sr. GM –Safety delivered welcome address. Safety pledge was administered in English and Telugu by Mr. Gantayat and by Mr. Shankaraiah respectively.

Mr. E. Ramaiah, Factory Manager read out the Annual Safety Report for the year 2019-20 and briefed about various Occupational Health and Safety developments in plant during the year.

Mr. N. Jeswanth Reddy emphasized on minimizing use of mobile phones to

avoid workplace distraction and also the importance of Safety Committee Members in the industry. Mr. G.K. Agarwal, Executive Director (Tech) stressed on the following points,

• Importance of housekeeping in the factory

• Significance of National Safety Day• Need of positive behaviour and

attitude at work place• Constant interest of workers/

employees in Safety for achieving “Zero Accident” goal.

The Chief Guest distributed the token gift to employees & contract workers. The Chief Guest and ED (Tech.) distributed prizes to the winners of various safety competitions that were organized as part of the Safety Day Celebrations. Vote of Thanks was delivered by Mr. B.B. Gantayat, Sr. G.M. (Safety).

TGV SRAAC Limited, Gondiparla - Kurnool

Mr. N. Jeswanth Reddy, Executive Director (Tech) addressing the gathering

A view of Audience A View of Exhibition on PPEs


Observation of 49th National Safety Day

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Vacuum truck fires/explosions can occur due to incompatible materials combined in the truck.

Another cause is presence of flammable liquids:

Vacuum trucks operate at lower pressure, which can cause low-boiling material to vaporize. These vapors can exit through the truck’s vent and could ignite.

Vacuum trucks can draw in liquid and some air, which can create a flammable mixture in the vapor space of the truck and generate static electricity due to the mixing of liquids and air.

The mixing and turbulence inside a vacuum truck are ideal for static generation.

Many companies use permit systems to safely manage vacuum truck operations. If you are working near a vacuum truck, make sure all aspects on the permit are completed correctly.

Vacuum trucks collect materials from many sources. Before starting, make sure your material and what is in the truck are compatible. If you are not sure, stop and ask.

Verify all vehicles being loaded or unloaded are grounded and bonded – including vacuum trucks.

Vacuum trucks can be used anywhere. If the vent discharge can contain flammable vapors, make sure it will not contact any ignition sources.

At a wastewater facility in Santa Paula (Southern California), on November 18, 2014, a vacuum truck explosion sprayed hazardous material over the site and sent dozens, including three firefighters, to hospital.

Sodium chlorite, an oxidizing agent, was identified in the months following the disaster. Apparently, the chemical was being using as a water treatment agent for the first time. It was vacuumed into the truck, which was used for disposal of other materials. The combined substances interacted, causing an explosion that blew off the back of the truck and spread the contents across the area. Upon release, the mixture dried and started to burn. Explosions spread the fire to surrounding containers, sending billowing black smoke into the sky and forcing police to shut down several roads. Residents within one mile were subject to mandatory evacuations, and those within three miles were ordered to shelter in place.

Vacuum trucks can catch fire AND explode!

Typical vacuum truck

Photo of the vacuum truck incident (Santa Clara Wastewater Co. explosion)

Vacuum trucks are useful systems that require special attention

www.iomosaic.com


NEWS DIGESTExports head towards contraction as orders from US, Europe vanishBusiness Standard | 31 Mar 2020

After sudden growth in February, exports are fast heading towards a lengthy period of contraction as buyers cancel major shipments in foreign-exchange (forex) earning sectors, fear exporters.

“We expect contraction in March. With major economies continuing to see sharp rise in cases, the cumulative fall in demand would spill over into April, causing a bigger contraction,” Ajay Sahai, Director General of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, said.

A string of order cancellations by major clients in the US and Europe — two major centres of the coronavirus outbreak — is expected to massively hit sectors like engineering goods and apparel. More than 40 per cent of India’s engineering exports land up in both markets, while Indian apparel is already under threat from cheaper Bangladeshi and Vietnamese alternatives in their primary export destination of Europe.

Exports had caught a rare breather in February, rising after six months, leading to hopes of a recovery period beginning soon.

Exports have also been rocked by chronic labour shortage, arising from a massive exodus of workers from the urban industrial zones to the rural hinterland.

Total exports again run the risk of missing the government’s internal target of $350 billion. India’s total outbound trade tally stood at $331 billion in 2018-19. It was the first time that exports remained above $300 billion for two consecutive years.

On the other hand, government is gearing up to announce the extension of the current five-year foreign trade policy by at least six months, multiple sources said. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is expected to announce the same on Tuesday morning at a meeting with exporters and sectoral councils. The updated foreign trade policy 2020-2025 was expected to go live from April 1.

This will also give the government enough time to thrash out the rates for the new remission of duties or taxes on export products scheme, set to replace the current merchandise exports from India scheme.

7.1% CAGR growth in trade with FTA & PTA partner countries Chemical Weekly | 31 Mar 2020

An internal assessment of India’s bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) or Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) with Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Bhutan, Nepal, Republic of Korea and Malaysia reveals that the cumulative average growth rate (CAGR) in trade with these partners over the last five financial years was 7.1%. While there has been growth rate in both imports from and exports to these FTA partners, the utilisation rate of FTAs both for India and its partners has been moderate. The economic impact assessment of FTAs is a continuous process undertaken in terms of data analysis and stakeholder consultations. An analysis of preferential import data for some of these agreements indicates that the FTA utilization rates have been moderate to high in the case of some sectors:

Iron and steel for the India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and India-Japan CEPA; Plastics in the case of the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA); and

Automotives in the case of the India-Malaysia CECA.

According to the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Piyush Goyal, the review of trade agreements is undertaken on the basis of mutual consent of the trading partners and demand from domestic stakeholders. Two reviews of the India-Singapore CECA have been completed: the India-Bhutan Agreement on Trade Commerce and Transit was renewed in 2016; while the India-Nepal Treaty of Trade was extended in 2016. Eight rounds of negotiations have been completed for the review of the India-Korea CEPA, which commenced in 2016. Moreover, India has taken up the review of India-Japan CEPA and India-ASEAN FTA with its trading partners.

Covid-19: India urges FTA partners to temporarily allow imports without certificate of originBusiness Line | 30 Mar 2020

India has urged the countries, with which it has free trade agreements (FTAs), to allow imports of goods without certificate of origin for the time being as the domestic authorities are currently not issuing the document on account of lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic. An exporter has to submit a certificate of origin at the landing port of the importing country.

The document is important to claim duty concessions under FTAs. The certificate is essential to prove where the goods come from. It also helps in checking dumping of cheap and sub-standard goods from a third country.

The notice said that India would also honour its preferential trade agreement imports, subject to the respective governments also making a formal request or putting up a notice in this regard for accepting these certificates on retrospective basis.


Help desk for exportersThe Tribune News | 27 Mar 2020

The Commerce Ministry today set up a help desk to resolve export and import-related issues arising due the coronavirus outbreak. It was operationalised by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and will deal with all issues related to the Department of Commerce or DGFT.

In this regard, a pro forma spreadsheet listing coronavirus-related import and export issues can be sent to ‘[email protected]’. Exporters and importers can also call on toll-free number 1800-111-550.

Covid-19: New Foreign Trade Policy on April 1 seems a difficult proposition nowBusiness Line | 25 Mar 2020

Exporters are still in the dark over whether the government will go ahead with the scheduled announcement of the new Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2020-25 on April 1. Many are making a case for postponing the FTP due to the uncertainties unleashed by the Covid-19 pandemic and a shut-down of government offices was making discussions difficult.

A government official told BusinessLine: “Not only are exporters eager for an extension of the present FTP and announcements of some additional relief measures, it has also become logistically difficult to finalise a new FTP as the Commerce Ministry is mostly shutdown.”

The Commerce & Industry Ministry, however, has not yet made any official announcement on whether the new FTP will be unveiled on April 1 or delayed.

India’s goods exports during April-February 2019-20 dipped 1.5 per cent to $292.91 billion compared to the same period last year, although exports increased 2.91 per cent to $27.65

billion in February 2020, for the first time in seven months.

Govt. eases import restrictions for certain chemicals, aviation gasoline Stepping into China’s shoesLive Mint | 16 Mar 2020

Rising tariff barriers in India may thwart the country’s ambitions of replacing China in global value chains amid coronavirus turmoil, suggests research

Coming on the back of a protracted trade war directed at China, the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic has led many companies to reconsider their investments across Asian supply chains.

For India, this raises the possibility of a silver lining amid the turmoil—that companies diversify their supply bases and invest in India.

However, trade experts fear that India’s growing protectionist tendencies could get in the way. The past three Union budgets have seen the country raise import barriers in a bid to protect domestic industries. The Union budget for 2020-21 increased customs duty across a broad range of products accounting for more than $8 billion of the country’s imports.

While this is a small share (about 2%) of India’s overall imports, the protectionist barriers mark a clear embrace of import substitution.

This hurts India’s objective of expanding exports through greater integration with crossborder production chains, which involve goods and services crossing borders several times while assembling a product.

Not only has India’s participation in global production dropped, its gains from integration have also declined. An analysis of data from the UNCTAD-Eora GVC database shows that India is using more high-value inputs from

abroad to produce its exports and adding less value to the exports of other countries.

India uses high-technology and high-quality imports for production of its exports, while itself being engaged in assembly and packaging of products, said Anjali Tandon, associate professor, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development.

Expanding the share of the domestic value added in a value chain requires efforts to reduce trade barriers, enhance infrastructure and improve access to finance, said Saon Ray, senior fellow, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.

According to a new study by Ray, the main reason for India’s low GVC participation lies in logistical inefficiencies (including high power costs) and limited access to finance. According to the latest World Development Report 2020, India’s logistics costs are double those of Bangladesh and triple those of China.

While it is important to address these domestic distortions, it is also important to liberalize imports and exports as tariffs on intermediate goods can be equally damaging to GVC integration.

Seemingly small tariffs can disrupt regional and global value chains substantially. According to an International Monetary Fund working paper authored by Kevin Cheng and others, tariffs are especially detrimental to GVC-related trade.

This is because fragmentation of production across GVC requires multiple border crossings and, so, GVCs have an amplified increase in the rate of protection even with a small tariff hike.

With successive tariff hikes since 2018, India has become much more protectionist than most other large economies.

According to a World Trade Organization report, tariff barriers


raised by India alone accounted for 22% of the total world trade affected by protectionist measures taken during mid-October 2018 and midOctober 2019. It was the second biggest contributor to these restrictions, behind only Donald Trump-led US.

Data from Global Trade Alert database also shows that among G-20 economies, India has been among the worst perpetrators of protectionist policies since the global financial crisis of 2008. Even when compared to countries with similar GDP per capita incomes, India’s protectionism stands out (Chart 4).

India’s rising tariff walls and lack of integration into global production chains are probably the reason why its share in world merchandise exports has largely remained stagnant in a 1.6-1.7% range since 2011. This stagnation has occurred at a time when China’s share in merchandise exports dropped significantly over the past few years, with the gap being filled by other Asian nations (Chart 5).

A number of companies are looking to diversify away from China, suggesting that the shift could be more structural and long-term in nature, said a UBS report dated 26 February. The report’s findings suggest that more than 63% of global executives are looking to move at least 40% of their China production outside the country.

India’s share in world merchandise exports has largely remained stagnant at 1.6-1.7% since 2011

Saudi Aramco reports 20.6% drop in 2019 profit over low prices, production Business Line | 15 Mar 2020

Saudi Aramco on Sunday reported a 20.6 per cent drop in its net profit for 2019 due to low oil prices and production levels, the company said in a statement.

These are the first annual results to be announced by the energy giant after its historical USD 29.4 billion initial public offering and listing on the Saudi Tadawul market last December.

Aramco posted net profits of USD 88.2 billion last year compared to USD 111.1 billion in 2018.

The company also made USD 1.6 billion of impairment provisions for losses associated with Sadara Chemical Company, an Aramco subsidiary.

The earnings for last year are not affected by the coronavirus outbreak or the ongoing price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia that has sent oil prices crashing.

Aramco said it will distribute dividends worth USD 73.2 billion for 2019 but based on its commitments under the IPO, its dividends for the next five years starting this year will be at least USD 75 billion. It said its capital spending last year dropped to $32.8 billion from USD 35.1 billion in 2018.

The results were announced amid a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia after they failed to agree on additional output cuts to support prices dented by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

The kingdom said a week earlier Aramco will pump 12.3 million barrels of oil per day, boosting output by at least 2.5 million bpd. It also announced plans to raise production capacity from 12 million bpd to 13 million bpd.

In its latest monthly report, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries lowered its forecast for global average daily demand by 0.92 million barrels to 99.73 million barrels.

Saudi Arabia is also in the midst of a royal purge that saw King Salman’s brother and nephew detained after sources said they were accused of plotting a palace coup to unseat the crown prince, heir to the Saudi throne.

Construction, transport, chemical manufacturing likely to be worst-affected, says reportThe Economic Times | 16 Mar 2020

Construction, transport and chemical manufacturing sectors are likely to be the worst-affected by the coronavirus pandemic in China, says a report. However, India’s top imports -- crude oil and gems and jewellery -- which collectively account for 46 per cent of total imports are relatively insulated from the public health crisis in China, according to the report by ICICI Securities.

Out of India’s total imports of USD 507 billion in FY19, 26 per cent of the basket, which comprises iron and steel and inorganic chemicals, is likely to be affected modestly.

Further, there are five import items that heavily depend on China. They are -- electrical machinery, machinery and mechanical appliances, organic chemicals, plastics and optical and surgical instruments. These items collectively account for 28 per cent of India’s import basket.

“The sectors likely to be worst-affected by the possible shutdown in China are construction, transport manufacturing, chemical manufacturing and machinery manufacturing,” it added.

The country exports only 5 per cent of its total export basket to China and hence, the report does not expect major impact on shipments due to coronavirus.

However, some export commodities like organic chemicals and cotton could


face headwinds as they export sizable share to China, it added.

Exports increase 2.9% in Feb, but outlook grim on coronavirus scare; Imports up 2.48%, trade deficit widens marginallyBusiness Line| 14 Mar 2020

After six straight months of decline, India’s exports of goods increased 2.91 per cent year-on-year in February to $27.65 billion propped by sectors such as petroleum, engineering goods, electronics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Imports during the month increased 2.48 per cent to $37.50 billion which led to widening of the trade deficit marginally to $9.85 billion, from $9.72 billion in the same month last year, according to figures released by the Commerce & Industry Ministry on Friday.

Total exports in the April-February 2019-20 period was 1.5 per cent lower at $ 292.91 billion. Imports for the period declined 7.36 per cent to $436.03 billion. Trade deficit in the 11-month period narrowed to $143 billion compared to $173 billion in the same period in 2018-19.

Gold imports declined 8.53 per cent to $2.3 billion while silver imports declined 41.95 per cent to $106 million.

Last fiscal, exports were valued at $331 billion which was about 9 per cent higher than the year before. Next month, exports have to grow over $38 billion to post an increase over last year’s figures.

Exporters seek duty reduction, logistics support from CentreBusiness Standard| 13 Mar 2020

Industry and exporters bodies sought logistics support and duty reduction from the government

to withstand the onslaught of the coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19).

At a meeting called by the commerce department, they said products that rely on imports have been affected by the outbreak.

Meanwhile, the Department of Financial Services (DFS) has asked the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to review existing insurance products to ensure risk cover against loss because of abnormal delay in delivery of shipments. IRDAI has also been asked to modify the terms and conditions of such policies, if necessary.

Meanwhile, DFS advised all public sector undertakings to set up special cells to provide full assistance to industry segments and micro, small and medium enterprises and process their requests with sensitivity. Banks were also requested to provide support to units that were identifying opportunities for import substitution.

Coronavirus Impact: Exports of key intermediate goods to China falter in JanuaryFinancial Express| 10 Mar 2020

India’s overall merchandise exports to coronavirus-hit China may have risen by almost 24% year-on-year in January, aided by a favourable base, but growth in the outbound shipment of certain key raw materials/intermediate goods and food items, including organic chemicals, plastics and marine products, did falter during the month. This was the time when the world’s second-largest economy was struggling to contain the epidemic within its shores and the outside world was largely unfamiliar with its ferocity.

With the epidemic spreading its tentacles far and wide now, both within and outside China, prompting India to curb pharmaceutical exports, growth in its outbound shipments to the giant

neighbour is all set to decline from February/March onwards, traders say.

Plastic exports crashed 43% in January, which exacerbated the fall in such shipments to China to 19% up to January this fiscal. Even iron and steel exports to China plunged by almost 40% in January, dragging down growth in such supplies to 98% up to January this fiscal.

Of course, there were certain other raw materials, such as cotton and iron ores, that defied this trend and witnessed a healthy rise in January, partly due to seasonal factors and favourable base. Having contracted for months, cotton exports rose 13.3% in January. Still, the exports in the first 10 months saw a contraction of 53%. Similarly, ore exports jumped 174% in January, pushing up such supplies by as much as 120% in the April-January period.

India’s exports to China rose to $1.5 billion in January, against $1.2 billion a year before, partly due to a favourable base. In the April-January period, however, the growth was only 4.8% y-o-y to $14.4 billion.

Trade impact of coronavirus epidemic for India estimated at $348 million: UN report The Times of India| 05 Mar 2020

The trade impact of the coronavirus epidemic for India is estimated to be about $348 million and the country figures among the top 15 economies most affected as slowdown of manufacturing in China disrupts world trade, according to a UN report.

Estimates published by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that the slowdown of manufacturing in China due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is disrupting world trade and could result in a 50 billion dollar decrease in exports across global value chains.


The most affected sectors include precision instruments, machinery, automotive and communication equipment.

Among the most affected economies are the European Union ($15.6 billion), the United States ($5.8 billion), Japan ($5.2 billion), South Korea ($3.8 billion), Taiwan Province of China ($2.6 billion) and Vietnam ($2.3 billion).

India is among the 15 most affected economies due to the coronavirus epidemic and slowdown in production in China, with a trade impact of $348 million.

The trade impact for India is less as compared to other economies such as EU, the US, Japan and South Korea. For India, the trade impact is estimated to be the most for the chemicals sector at $129 million, textiles and apparel at $64 million, automotive sector at $34 million, electrical machinery at $12 million, leather products at $13 million, metals and metal products at $27 million and wood products and furniture at $15 million.

“Besides its worrying effects on human life, the novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) has the potential to significantly slowdown not only the Chinese economy but also the global economy. China has become the central manufacturing hub of many global business operations. Any disruption of China’s output is expected to have repercussions elsewhere through regional and global value chains,” UNCTAD said.

Over the last month, China has seen a dramatic reduction in its manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) to 37.5, its lowest reading since 2004.

This drop implies a 2 per cent reduction in output on an annual basis. This has come as a direct consequence of the spread of corona virus (COVID-19).

“The 2 per cent contraction in China’s output has ripple effects through the global economy and thus far has caused an estimated drop of about $50 billion across countries, “UNCTAD said.

Meanwhile, the extent of the damage to the global economy caused by novel coronavirus COVID-19 moved further into focus as UN economists announced a likely $50 billion drop in worldwide manufacturing exports in February alone.

Manufacturing may get leg-up from China woesThe Asian Age | 03 Mar 2020

India is emerging as the top destination for companies shifting or diversifying their supply chains to escape US tariffs on China-made goods and disruptions from the coronavirus outbreak.

A UBS study concludes that India could be a major beneficiary of China Plus-One strategy of global companies.

The US CFO Survey of UBS Evidence Lab finds that 76 per cent of the respondents have either shifted their supply chain or are planning to shift in response to protectionist policies emanating from the US-China trade war.

Trade data also confirms an increase in exports of tariff-imposed products to the US from India.

In Asia, India is among the most sought after destination for moving products out of China, while data suggest that Indian export to the US market has seen a significant increase post the imposition of US tariffs on China, experts said.

Since China is getting expensive, people are shifting to a China Plus-One strategy, experts said.

Many Indian firms in electronic, chemical and durable sectors are seeing a surge in sourcing enquires from global firms.

Several durable companies like Amber Enterprises, Dixon Tech, V-Guard and Havells India are trying to cash in on the China Plus-One strategy of global companies.

China Plus-one strategy is about still using the resources allocated in China, but adding lower wages to the mix.

Factory activity growth slows in February, PMI at 54.5; coronavirus outbreak hits business sentimentThe Economic Times| 03 Mar 2020

India’s factory activity growth slowed in February from the previous month’s eight-year high even as business sentiment faded on the back of concerns regarding the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on exports and supply chains, a private survey showed on Monday. The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 54.5 last month from January’s near eight-year high of 55.3 but remained above the 50-point threshold mark, which separates growth from contraction. “Factories in India continued to benefit from strong order flows in February, from both the domestic and international markets,” said Pollyanna De Lima, principal economist at IHS Markit and author of the report. As per the survey report, although manufacturers expect further increases in demand to support output growth in the year ahead, the degree of optimism weakened from January and was below its long-run average. Survey members were particularly worried about the negative impacts of the coronavirus epidemic on exports and supply chains. The subdued mood pushed hiring activity to its lowest in three months. “However, alarm bells are ringing for Indian goods producers as the COVID-19 outbreak poses threats to exports and supply chains,” de Lima said, adding that businesses became less confident about the year-ahead outlook for output, in turn restricting hiring activity.

India Inc moves to fill void left by China in wake of coronavirus woesChemical Today| 03 Mar 2020

Disruption in China has created prospects for India to emerge as an alternative manufacturing destination. The need for India to build up self-reliance on manufacturing has become


even more urgent as the deadly virus has spread to other manufacturing hubs such as South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. India is looking to position itself as an alternative manufacturing destination for global companies after the coronavirus outbreak exposed how heavily they are reliant on China for raw materials and production. Top government officials are holding meetings with industry representatives as the disruption in China due to a lockdown in huge swathes of the country has opened up opportunities for India to emerge as an alternative manufacturing destination.

Now, the imminent supply disruption from China is forcing India to take a hard look at the road ahead. The need for India to build up self-reliance on manufacturing has become even more urgent as the deadly virus has spread to other manufacturing hubs such as South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.

As part of the plan to attract global investments, the environment ministry now aims to streamline processes and fast-track clearances for establishing manufacturing units for drug raw materials. Indian drug makers rely on China for over two-thirds of the supply of bulk drugs—key ingredients that give medicines their therapeutic value.

Indian manufacturers already sense a business opportunity and have ramped up production of medical goods such as masks. This comes amid a worldwide shortage because of a surge in demand in China. Besides, lingering tensions between the US and China on trade issues may prompt Western manufacturers to shift to India if a conducive policy framework is provided, industry executives said.

Chemicals manufacturers brace for drop in revenues: CRISIL SME TrackerBusiness Standard| 31 March 2020

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) engaged in the manufacture of

chemicals are expected be hit hard as the industry braces for a decline in volume and realisations in the next fiscal year (2020-21), following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

SMEs account for 30-35 per cent of the industry (in value terms), and are clustered around Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Delhi-NCR region. Gujarat alone houses over 400 chemical units.

In calendar year 2020, the price of Brent crude oil is expected average $35-40 per barrel, compared with $64 in calendar year 2019, as multiple headwinds coalesce — a global slowdown, output war between major crude oil producers, and demand contraction following the Covid-19 pandemic, to name some.

In the domestic market, the demand for chemicals is expected to moderate owing to slowdown in demand from key end-use industries such as automobiles, consumer durables, textiles and construction.

Thus, along with a drop in volume, the SMEs are looking at a fall in realisations owing to lower prices of inputs such as crude oil, as the cost savings will have to be passed on to consumers.

Furthermore, with recession imminent in the United States and Europe, exports are expected to take a hit, too.

Therefore, the revenues of chemicals manufacturers are expected to decline in 2020-21. Any expansion in operating margins is expected to be offset by lower top line growth because of weak demand.

Speciality chemicals firms see gains from coronavirus scare as orders riseBusiness Standard| 03 March 2020

The speciality chemicals segment stands out in the current economic scenario — it is witnessing a rise in orders and expansion of capacities. In addition to the regular order flows, trends in the global chemicals space

are expected to lead to near-term opportunities for Indian companies.

Given the expansions, tie-ups with foreign majors, and innovative product launches, analysts believe there could be further upside from the current levels. Listed speciality chemical players have consistently generated wealth for investors, with the Street taking note of the ...

GACL starts expanded stable bleaching powder plant in DahejChemical Today| 03 Mar 2020

Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd. has commenced 15000 tonnes per annum (TPA) stable bleaching powder (SBP) plant at Dahej, Gujarat, India with total project cost of Rs 25.50 crore.

The commercial production at the said SBP plant at Dahej has been achieved recently on 21 February. The estimated increase in annual revenue of the company from this plant would be about Rs 15 crore. The company is having existing SBP plant at Dahej with a capacity of 15000 TPA. With this expansion, the total capacity of the SBP plant at Dahej will be 30,000 TPA. The SBP plant is captively consuming chlorine.

Meghmani Organics sees no major impact of Covid-19 on its businessChemical Today| 17 Mar 2020

Gujarat-based Meghmani Organics Ltd. does not envisage any major impact of Covid-19 on its business except general business risks. “In an event where the normalcy in China gets delayed, the (export) business could marginally get impacted,” the company said in a stock exchange filing, adding it does not have any major exports to China.

“Out of total imports, around 65-75 per cent of imports are sourced from China. Our dependency on China is for only one major raw material ingredient with respect to one of our finished pro-


ducts, which constitutes around 17-20 per cent of revenue from agrochemical business,” it said. “In case of another one finished product in agrochemicals, we, at times, partially depend on China for one of the raw materials. This input material, though available in India, we have some price advantage when we source from China. The revenue contribution of this end product is around 4.5-5 per cent of the total sale,” it added. Other than these two raw materials, the company said is not dependent on China.

On the inventory side, the company has started experiencing little ease in supplies from China. Few consignments have already been on its way for shipping and few more shipments are lined up. “We hope to revert to normalcy in coming months,” it said.

Punjab Alkalies & Chemicals : Disinvestment processBusiness Line| 02 Mar 2020

Resurgent India Ltd has been selected as an advisor for disinvestment of 33.49 per cent equity stake in Punjab Alkalies & Chemicals Ltd by Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. Currently, Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation is the promoter of the company. The public holds 66.51 per cent stake; this includes 45 high net worth individuals holding 35.26 per cent stake. About 18,600 small investors hold 17.11 per cent stake in Punjab Alkalies.

Alkali makers moot rallying chlorine in anti-COVID warFinancial Express| 24 March 2020

The World Bank estimates that 21% of communicable diseases in India are linked to unsafe water and the lack of hygiene practices. According to AMAI, in India, 163 million people lack access to safe water.

Alkali Manufacturers Association of India (AMAI) has come up with an

initiative to harness chlorinated water to check COVID-19 virus. An outreach on this, roping in the country’s PHEDs (Public Health Engineering Departments) and municipal bodies, has been set in motion, this week.

“The COVID-19 outbreak has come as a challenge. As other human coronaviruses have been shown to be sensitive to chlorination, the COVID-19 virus is likely to be more sensitive to chlorine,” said Jayantibhai Patel, president, AMAI.

With new studies pointing to chlorination of water as one of the potential ways to combat novel coronavirus COVID-19, the Rs 25,000-crore alkali industry feels that it is time to build awareness on chlorination of drinking water for disinfection. AMAI is the New-Delhi-based association of manufacturers of chemicals like caustic soda and soda ash, with chlorine as a by-product.

“The disease burden owing to water-borne diseases can be significantly brought down through chlorine disinfection. This also ties in with achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: Water and Sanitation for All by 2030,” Patel told FE.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), in a technical paper released earlier this month titled Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Waste Management for the COVID-19 virus, had said the safe water, sanitation and hygienic conditions are essential to protecting human health, during all infectious disease outbreaks, including the COVID-19 outbreak.

“WHO guidelines recommend chlorination with a 0.5 ppm free residual chlorine in water distribution for disinfection. We are giving free training to municipal water treatment personnel on chlorination techniques and safe handling of chlorine,” says K Srinivasan, Secretary General, AMAI.

The World Bank estimates that 21% of communicable diseases in India are

linked to unsafe water and the lack of hygiene practices. According to AMAI, in India, 163 million people lack access to safe water.

Chlor Alkali & the fight against COVID – 19 Chemical Weekly | 31st March 2020

Disposal of used infected masks: Used masks to be disinfected with 1% Solution of Sodium Hypochlorite or 5% Solution of ordinary bleach solution, followed by either burning or deep burial – Advisory issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (https://www.mohfw.gov.in/DraftUseofmaskbypublic.pdf).

Disinfection of surfaces and reusables: 0.5% Sodium Hypochlorite solution are highly recommended.

Disinfection for distribution of drinking water: Minimum 0.5-ppm free residual chlorine for 30 minutes in water distribution to be maintained.

Sanitation & hygiene: Toilets and the handling of faeces: If a bedpan is used, after disposing of excreta from it, the bedpan should be cleaned with a neutral detergent and water, disinfected with a 0.5% chlorine solution, and then rinsed with clean water; the rinse water should be disposed of in a drain or a toilet or latrine.

Hospital cleaning and disinfection: Sodium hypochlorite at 0.5% (equivalent to 5,000-ppm or 1 part household bleach of 5% sodium hypochlorite to 9 parts water) for disinfecting surfaces; If the towels are single use, they should be treated as infectious waste; if they are reusable, they should be treated as soiled linens. The area should then be cleaned and disinfected (with, for example, 0.5% free chlorine solution).

[WHO and UNICEF WASH-IPC 2020 Document on Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Waste Management for the COVID-19 Virus (https://www.who.int/publicationsdetail/water-sanitation-hygiene-and-waste-management-for-covid-19)].


F. No. 6/38/2019-DGTRGovernment of India

Ministry of Commerce & Industry (DGTR)2nd March 2020

INITIATION NOTIFICATION Case No. OI (CVD) - 10/2019

Subject: Initiation of Countervailing Duty/Anti-Subsidy Investigation concerning imports of Soda Ash originating in or exported from Turkey.

1. M/s DCW Limited, M/s RSPL Limited and M/s GHCL Limited (hereinafter also referred to as “Applicants”) have filed an application before the Designated Authority (hereinafter also referred to as the “Authority”) on behalf of the domestic industry, in accordance with the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 as amended from time to time (hereinafter also referred to as the “Act”) and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Countervailing Duty on Subsidized Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995 as amended from time to time (hereinafter also referred to as the “Rules”) for Original Investigation of Countervailing Duty concerning imports of “Soda Ash” (hereinafter also referred to as “subject goods” or “product under consideration” or “PUC” ), originating in or exported from Turkey (hereinafter also referred to as the “subject country”).

2. The Applicants have alleged that material injury to the Domestic Industry is being caused due to subsidised imports from the subject country and have requested for imposition of Countervailing duty on imports of subsidised subject goods, originating in or exported from the subject country.

Product under consideration

3. The product under consideration is Disodium Carbonate, popularly known as “Soda Ash”, having chemical formula Na2CO3.

4. Soda Ash is a white, crystalline, water-soluble material. Soda Ash is produced in two forms by the Indian Producers - Light Soda Ash and Dense Soda Ash. The difference in the two types is bulk density. Further, Soda Ash can be either natural soda ash or synthetic soda ash, both products are essentially the same. Present investigation covers all forms of Soda Ash.

5. Soda Ash is an essential ingredient in the manufacture of detergents, soaps, cleaning compounds, sodium based chemicals, float glass, container and specialty glasses, silicates and other industrial chemicals. It is also widely used in textiles, paper, metallurgical industries and desalination plants.

6. The product under consideration is classified under Chapter 28 of the Act under customs sub-heading 2836.20. However, the customs classification is indicative only and is not binding on the scope of this investigation.

Like Article

7. The Applicants have claimed that the subject goods, which are subsidised and exported to India, are identical to the goods produced by the domestic industry. There are no known differences either in the technical specifications, quality, functions or end-uses of the subsidised imports and the domestically produced subject goods and the product under consideration manufactured by the Applicants. The two are technically and commercially substitutable and hence, should be treated as ‘like article’ under the Rules. Therefore, for the purpose of the present investigation, the subject goods produced by the Applicants in India are being treated as ‘Like Article’ to the subject goods being imported from the subject country.

Domestic Industry

8. The application has been filed by M/s DCW Limited, M/s RSPL Limited and M/s GHCL Limited. The Applicants have neither imported the subject goods from the subject country nor are related to any exporter or producer of subject goods in the subject country or any importer of the PUC in India. On the basis of information available, the Authority has considered the Applicants as Domestic Industry within the meaning of the Rule 2(b) and also satisfying the criteria of standing in terms of Rule 6(3) of the Rules.

Basis of Alleged Subsidisation

9. The Applicants have alleged that producer/exporters of the subject goods in the subject country have benefitted from various actionable subsidies provided by the Government of the subject country. The Applicants have provided a list of various notified schemes/programmes which provide actionable subsidies by the Government of Turkey as available on their website. These schemes have been alleged to be countervailable as they involve financial contribution or income or price support from the Governments and confer a benefit. These are either contingent upon export or require minimum value for


export, or benefit production in some specific products by leading to access to inputs at less than adequate remuneration, or encourage use of domestic goods over imported goods, and countervailable within the meaning of the relevant Rules.

10. The Designated Authority reserves the right to investigate other subsidies, which may be found to exist and availed by the producers and exporters of the subject goods in the subject country.

Consultation

11. A pre-initiation consultation as per the Article 13.1 of the WTO provisions was held with the Government of Turkey through video conferencing on 11th February, 2020. In response to this consultation, Government of Turkey denied existence of certain programs, non-availment of some by producers/exporters, negligible net countervailable subsidy in some schemes and stated further, that in the event India decides to conduct the Anti-subsidy investigation, it should take note of the Article 27.10 of the WTO agreement on subsidy and countervailing measures, before application of a measure. However, the Government of Turkey has not provided any evidence in support of its submissions. Hence, the existence of alleged programmes and quantification of all the countervailable subsidies are required to be analysed through an investigation as per the relevant Rules.

Injury and Causal link

12. Information furnished by the Applicants has been considered for assessment of injury to the domestic industry. The Applicants have furnished evidence regarding the injury having taken place as a result of the alleged subsidisation and resulting in increased volume of subsidised imports in absolute terms and in relation to production and consumption in India, and price suppressing effect on the domestic industry. The Applicants have claimed that their performance has been adversely impacted in respect of production, sales and consequent decline in profits, return on capital employed and cash flow, as a result of subsidised exports from subject country and there is sufficient prima facie evidence of the material injury and threat of material injury being caused to the domestic industry by subsidised exports from the subject country to justify initiation of an countervailing duty investigation.

Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation

13. On the basis of the duly substantiated written application by or on behalf of the domestic industry, and having satisfied itself, on the basis of the prima facie evidence submitted by the domestic industry, substantiating subsidisation of the subject goods originating in or exported from the subject country, injury to the domestic industry and causal link between such alleged subsidisation and injury, and in accordance with Section 9 of the Act read with Rule 6 of the Rules, the Authority hereby initiates an investigation to determine the existence, degree and effect of alleged subsidies in respect of the subject goods originating in or exported from the subject country and to recommend the amount of Countervailing duty, which if levied, would be adequate to remove the injury to the domestic industry.

Subject Country14. The subject country in the present investigation is Turkey.

Period of Investigation

15. The Period of Investigation (hereinafter also referred to as “POI”) proposed by the Domestic Industry in the present investigation is 01st April, 2019 to 30th September, 2019 (6 months). The Authority requested the Applicants to file updated data for a further period of 3 months (01.10.2019 to 31.12.2019) to undertake analysis on the most recent data. The Domestic Industry filed data for the period of 8 months i.e. April, 2019 – November, 2019 which has been used for alleged subsidisation and injury examination. However, Period of Investigation in the present investigation will be 1st April 2019 - 31st December 2019. The injury investigation period will cover the periods April 2016 - March 2017, April 2017- March 2018, April 2018 - March 2019 and the POI. For threat of injury, the data beyond the POI would also be examined.

Procedure

16. Principles as given in Rule 7 of the Rules shall be followed for the present investigation.

Submission of information

17. The exporters in the subject country and their government through their Embassy in India, importers and users in India known to be concerned with the subject goods and the domestic industry are being informed separately to enable them to file all the relevant information in the form and manner prescribed within the time-limit set out below.

18. Any other interested party may also make its submissions relevant to the investigation in the form and manner prescribed within the time-limit set out below.

19. The information/ submission may be submitted to:


Ministry of Commerce & Industry (DGTR) Department of Commerce

Government of India20. Any party making any confidential submission before the Authority is required to make a non-confidential version of the

same available to the other parties.

Time-Limit21. Any information relating to the present investigation should be sent in writing so as to reach the Authority at the address

mentioned above within thirty days from the date of receipt of the notice as per Rule 7(4) of the Rules. It may, however, be noted that in terms of explanation of the said Rule, the notice calling for information and other documents shall be deemed to have been received one week from the date on which it was sent by the Designated Authority or transmitted to the appropriate diplomatic representative of the exporting Country. If no information is received within the prescribed time-limit or the information received is incomplete, the Authority may record its findings on the basis of the facts available on record in accordance with the Rules.

22. All the interested parties are hereby advised to intimate their interest (including the nature of interest) in the instant matter and file their questionnaire responses within the above time limit.

Submission of information on confidential basis23. The parties making any submission (including Appendices/Annexures attached thereto), before the Authority including

questionnaire response, are required to file the same in two separate sets, in case "confidentiality" is claimed on any part thereof:

» i. one set marked as Confidential (with title, number of pages, index, etc.), and » ii. the other set marked as Non-Confidential (with title, number of pages, index, etc.).

24. The “confidential” or “non-confidential” submissions must be clearly marked as “confidential” or “non-confidential” at the top of each page. Any submission made without such marking shall be treated as non-confidential by the Authority, and the Authority shall be at liberty to allow the other interested parties to inspect such submissions. Soft copies of both the versions will also be required to be submitted, along with the hard copies in four (4) sets of each.

25. The confidential version shall contain all information which is by nature confidential and/or other information which the supplier of such information claims as confidential. For information which are claimed to be confidential by nature or the information on which confidentiality is claimed because of other reasons, the supplier of the information is required to provide a good cause statement along with the supplied information as to why such information cannot be disclosed.

26. The non-confidential version is required to be a replica of the confidential version with the confidential information preferably indexed or blanked out (in case indexation is not feasible) and summarised depending upon the information on which confidentiality is claimed. The non-confidential summary must be in sufficient detail to permit a reasonable understanding of the substance of the information furnished on confidential basis. However, in exceptional circumstances, the party submitting the confidential information may indicate that such information is not susceptible to summary, and a statement of reasons why summarisation is not possible must be provided to the satisfaction of the Authority.

27. The Authority may accept or reject the request for confidentiality on examination of the nature of the information submitted. If the Authority is satisfied that the request for confidentiality is not warranted or if the supplier of the information is either unwilling to make the information public or to authorise its disclosure in generalised or summary form, it may disregard such information.

28. Any submission made without a meaningful non-confidential version thereof or without good cause statement on the confidentiality claim shall not be taken on record by the Authority.

29. The Authority on being satisfied and accepting the need for confidentiality of the information provided, shall not disclose it to any party without specific authorisation of the party providing such information.

Inspection of Public File30. In terms of Rule 7(7) of the Rules, any interested party may inspect the public file containing non-confidential version of the

evidence submitted by other interested parties.

Non-cooperation31. In case where an interested party refuses access to, or otherwise does not provide necessary information within a reasonable

period, or significantly impedes the investigation, the Authority may record its findings on the basis of the facts available to it and make such recommendations to the Central Government as deemed fit.

(Bhupinder S. Bhalla) Additional Secretary & Designated Authority


Notification No. 05/2020-Customs (ADD)GOVERNMENT OF INDIAMINISTRY OF FINANCE

(DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE)New Delhi, 7 March 2020

G.S.R. --(E). – Whereas, in the matter of import of ‘Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride Resin (CPVC)-whether or not further processed into compound’ (hereinafter referred to as the subject goods), falling under heading 3904 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975) (hereinafter referred to as the said Customs Tariff Act), originating in, or exported from China PR and Korea RP (hereinafter referred to as the subject countries) and imported into India, the designated authority vide its preliminary findings No. 6/3/2019-DGTR, dated the 12th July, 2019, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part I, Section 1, dated the 12th July, 2019, had recommended imposition of provisional anti-dumping duty on the imports of subject goods, originating in or exported from subject countries;

And whereas, on the basis of aforesaid findings of the designated authority, the Central Government had imposed provisional anti-dumping duty on the subject goods vide notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), No. 33/2019- Customs (ADD), dated the 26th August, 2019, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number G. S. R. 600 (E), dated the 26th August, 2019;

And whereas, the designated authority in its final findings vide notification No. 6/3/2019- DGTR, dated the 19th February, 2020, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part I, Section 1, dated the 19th February, 2020, has come to conclusion that-

i. the product under consideration has been exported to India from the subject countries below normal value;ii. such dumped imports of the subject goods from the subject countries have caused material retardation to the

establishment of the domestic industry;

and has recommended imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty equal to the lesser of the margin of dumping and the margin of injury, so as to remove the injury to the domestic industry;

Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-sections (1) and (5) of section 9A of the said Customs Tariff Act, read with rules 18 and 20 of the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995, the Central Government, on the basis of the aforesaid final findings of the designated authority, hereby imposes on the subject goods, the description of which is specified in column (3) of the Duty Table below, falling under tariff items of the First Schedule to the said Customs Tariff Act as specified in the corresponding entry in column (2), originating in the countries as specified in the corresponding entry in column (4), and exported from the countries as specified in the corresponding entry in column (5), produced by the producers as specified in the corresponding entry in column (6), having specifications as specified in the corresponding entry in column (7), and imported into India, a definitive antidumping duty at the rate equal to the difference between the landed value of the subject goods and the amount, currency and per unit of measurement as specified in the corresponding entry in column (8) provided that the landed value is less than the amount indicated in column (8), of the said Duty Table:- (On page 30)

2. The anti-dumping duty imposed under this notification shall be effective for a period of 5 years (unless revoked, amended or superseded earlier) from the date of imposition of the provisional anti-dumping duty, that is, the 26th August, 2019 and shall be payable in Indian currency:

Provided that the said anti-dumping duty shall not be levied for the period commencing from the date of the lapse of the provisional anti-dumping duty, that is the 26th February, 2020 up to the preceding day of the publication of this notification in the Official Gazette.

Explanation 1.- For the purposes of this notification, rate of exchange applicable for the purposes of calculation of such anti-dumping duty shall be the rate which is specified in the notification of the Government of India, in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), issued from time to time, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), and the relevant date for the determination of the rate of exchange shall be the date of presentation of the bill of entry under section 46 of the said Customs Act.

Explanation 2.- The landed value of imports for the purpose of this notification shall be the assessable value as determined by the Customs under Customs Act, 1962 and applicable level of customs duties except duties levied under Section 3, 8B, 9, 9A of the said Customs Tariff Act.


S.No. HS Code Description of goods

Country of origin Country of Export Producer Specification Amount in USD/MT

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

1A 3904 10 10 3904 10 20 3904 10 90 3904 21 00 3904 22 00 3904 90 10 3904 90 90

Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride Resin (CPVC) - whether or not further processed into compound

China PR Any country including China PR

Shandong Gaoxin Chemical Co Ltd

CPVC Resin 2,087

1B China PR Any country including China PR

CPVC Compound

2,717

2A China PR Any country including China PR

Shandong Pujie rubber and plastic Co. ltd

CPVC Resin 2,053


CPVC Compound

2,853


Shandong Xiangsheng New Materials Technology Co., Ltd.,

CPVC Resin 2,045


CPVC Compound

2,853


Weifang Sundow Chemical Co. Ltd

CPVC Resin 2,025


CPVC Compound

2,853


Shandong Xuye New Materials Co. Ltd

CPVC Resin 2,057


CPVC Compound

2,657


Any Producer other than mentioned above

CPVC Resin 2,161

6B CPVC Compound

2,853

7A Any country other than China PR and Korea RP

China PR Any CPVC Resin 2,161

7B CPVC Compound

2,853

8A Korea RP Any country including Korea PR

Any Producer CPVC Resin 2,024

8B CPVC Compound

2,853

9A Any country other than China PR and Korea RP

Korea RP Any Producer CPVC Resin 2,024

9B CPVC Compound

2,853

[F.No.354/110/2019 –TRU]

(Gaurav Singh) Deputy Secretary to the Government of India


Duty Table

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12 Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) Approvals (US$ Million)

13 Foreign Exchange Reserves (US$ billion)

14 Fiscal Deficit (Apr 2019-Feb 2020)

15 Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)

1 Alkali Imports (MT)

KEY INDICATORS FEBRUARY 2020Qty (Feb 2020) Qty (Feb 2019) % Difference

(Y-o-Y)Qty (Jan 2020) % Difference

(M-o-M)FY 2019-20 (upto Feb)

FY 2018-19 (upto Feb)

% Difference Total Imports 2018-19

Caustic Soda 24,855 2,672 830.2% 35,927 -30.8% 337,478 222,498 51.7% 235,364

Soda Ash 68,013 63,364 7.3% 64,185 6.0% 885,569 781,199 13.4% 838,464

Average Price in Feb 2020: Caustic Soda - 324 USD/MT (Lye) & 425 USD/MT (Flakes); Soda Ash - 238 USD/MT

2 Foreign Trade - Merchandise (US$ billion)

Feb 2020 Feb 2019 % Difference FY 2019-20(upto Feb) FY 2018-19(upto Feb) % Difference Total Imports 2018-19

Imports 37.5 36.6 2.5% 436.0 470.4 -7.3% 507.4

Exports 27.7 26.9 2.9% 292.9 297.4 -1.5% 331.0

Surplus/Deficit -9.9 -9.7 -143.1 -173.0 -176.4

Feb 2020 Feb 2019 % Difference

Mining 123.7 112.5 10.0%

Manufacturing 133.5 129.3 3.2%

Electricity 149.1 137.9 8.1%

Feb 2020 Jan 2020 % Difference

Net Foreign Direct Investment

2,873 5,668 -49.3%

Net Portfolio Investment

1,033 -227 -

Total 3,906 5,441 -28.2%


Chemical & Chemical Products 120.5 111.6 8.0%

Textiles 119.6 113.8 5.1%

Paper & Paper Products 89.7 91.9 -2.4%

Basic Metals 165.6 140.1 18.2%


India NA NA NA

Russia NA 109.9 NA

Brazil NA 96.7 NA

European Union (28) NA 106.2 NA

USA 105.3 105.2 0.0%

3 Exchange Rate (Rs./USD)

9 All India Inflation Rates (Base: 2012=100)

10 Consumer Price Inflation - Industrial Workers (Base: 2001=100)

11 Foreign Investment Inflows (US$ Million)

4 Index of Industrial Production (Base: 2011-12=100)

5 Index of Core Industries (Base: 2011-12=100)

6 Index of Industrial Production - Broad Sectors (Base: 2011-12=100)

7 Index of Industrial Production - Manufacturing Sub-groups (Base: 2011-12=100)

8 Index of Industrial Production Country-wise Comparisons (Base: 2015=100)

Feb 2020 Jan 2020 Dec 2019

71.49 71.31 71.19 Feb 2020 Feb 2019 % Difference

149.1 139.9 6.6%


328 307 6.8%


133.3 127.6 4.5%


132.9 125.9 5.5%

Feb 2020 Jan 2020 Dec 2019

26 24 45

Feb 2020 (as on 28 Feb 2020)

Jan 2020 (as on 31 Jan 2020)

% Difference

482 471 2.2%

Feb 2020 Jan 2020 Dec 2019

54.5 55.3 52.7

% of Actuals to Budget Estimates FY 2019-20

% of Actuals to Budget Estimates FY 2018-19

135.2% 134.2%

Index over 50 shows expansion, while below 50 means contraction

Data Source: GOI, OECD, IHS & AMAI Research


Published by ALKALI MANUFACTURES ASSOCIATION OF INDIA 3rd Floor, Pankaj Chambers, Preet Vihar Commercial Complex, Vikas Marg, Delhi 110092 Ph: 011-22432003, 22410150 Email:[email protected]; [email protected]; website: www.ama-india.org

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