PRNewswire
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 2: Godrej Industries Group (GIG) hosted the third edition of its National Chemistry Day Summit, bringing together leaders from across the chemical industry to explore how businesses can strengthen resilience and prepare for a rapidly evolving operating environment. Third edition examines how businesses can build resilience through innovation, technology, talent and stronger industry collaboration.
Key takeaways:
* Leaders highlighted stronger collaboration across the chemical value chain as critical to building a more resilient and future-ready industry
* AI, innovation and talent development emerged as key enablers of competitiveness and long-term growth
* The industry's shift towards green chemistry and responsible manufacturing is creating new imperatives for businesses to adapt and innovate
A joint initiative of GIG companies Godrej Industries (Chemicals) and Astec LifeSciences, the summit was held under the theme 'Staying Resilient in a New Age World'. Building on the momentum of its previous editions, the summit examined how the chemical industry can adapt to changing market dynamics, evolving supply chains, technological disruption, and the shifting sustainability landscape.
The Indian chemical industry is undergoing significant transformation, with geopolitical uncertainty and changing customer expectations, reshaping the business landscape. Against this backdrop, the summit explored how organisations can move beyond reacting to change and instead build capabilities that enable them to anticipate disruption, adapt faster and create long-term value.
Commenting on the summit, Vishal Sharma, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer, Godrej Industries (Chemicals) and Chairperson, Astec LifeSciences, said:
"Resilience today is no longer just about managing disruption; it is about anticipating and being prepared for what comes next. As our industry navigates geopolitical uncertainty, evolving customer needs, and a rapidly changing environment, agility will define the winners.
But no company can build that future alone. In the chemical industry, each of us is simultaneously a competitor, a supplier, and a customer. If we want to take this industry forward in the right direction for India, we must move beyond operating only as individual companies and work together as the chemical industry.
That is the spirit behind National Chemistry Day and our commitment to building it as a permanent platform for collaboration. Together, we can create an industry that is more innovative, more agile, more sustainable, and most importantly, future-ready and resilient."
Strengthening resilience across the chemical ecosystem
The first panel, 'Resilience Beyond the Enterprise: Building a Future-Ready Chemical Industry,' was moderated by Vishal Sharma and brought together Murali Krishna Duvvuri, Senior Managing Director, Life Sciences, Asia and Region India, Croda; Alexander Gerding, Managing Director, BASF India; and Bankim Patra, Country Head (Lubes), Indian Oil Corporation Limited.
The discussion highlighted the importance of taking an integrated approach to strengthening India's chemical ecosystem. Panellists discussed the need for greater collaboration across the value chain, stronger technology and R&D partnerships, enabling infrastructure and policies, and faster project execution.
The conversation underscored the role of a stronger industry ecosystem in supporting investment, innovation and scale, while enabling Indian chemical companies to remain competitive in a rapidly changing global environment.
Building agility and competitiveness within the enterprise
The second panel, "Resilience for the Enterprise: Driving Growth, Competitiveness, and Agility in a Changing Market," was moderated by Sandeep Arora, Chief Commercial Officer, Godrej Industries (Chemicals) and featured Raj Tiwari, CEO, SUPERFORM and Whole-time Director, UPL Limited; Ajith Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, Birla Opus; and Vimal Bhola, Co-founder and Chief R&D Scientist, Innovist, formerly Onesto Labs.
The discussion explored how organisations can build greater resilience through people, product differentiation, customer understanding and a culture that encourages innovation.
Key considerations included talent development, long-term business planning, customer-centricity, faster innovation and the need to balance short-term execution with sustained investment in research and development. The conversation highlighted how these capabilities can help businesses remain agile and responsive as market conditions evolve.
AI and talent emerge as critical priorities
The summit also featured two focused sessions examining emerging priorities for the chemical industry.
The session 'Preparing for the Next Decade: AI in the Chemical Industry' featured a keynote by Sambit Patra, Senior Partner, Chemicals Practice, Bain & Company, exploring the potential role of artificial intelligence in shaping the next phase of growth and transformation in the chemical sector.
A fireside chat titled 'The Talent Imperative: Attracting, Developing, and Retaining Talent in a Rapidly Evolving Chemical Industry' featured Shefali Kohli, CHRO, Global Chemicals, Fashion Yarn and Insulators, Aditya Birla Group, and Poonam Burman, Chief Human Resource Officer, Godrej Industries (Chemicals).
About Godrej Industries Group
At the Godrej Industries Group, we serve over 1.4 billion people globally through a diverse portfolio of businesses, united by our purpose of Crafting tomorrow. With revenues of USD 7.2 billion in FY26 and a market capitalisation of USD 19 billion as of 31 March 2026, we operate across FMCG, real estate, financial services, agriculture and chemicals.
We are the leading player in India across several business categories, including residential real estate, animal feed, crude palm oil, oleochemicals, household insecticides, hair colour and air care.
We are committed to building a more sustainable future through our Good & Green programme, with ambitions of net-zero operations by 2035 and responsible supply chains by 2047. In 2025, Godrej Consumer Products and Godrej Properties were both ranked number one globally in their respective categories on the Dow Jones Best-in-Class Sustainability Indices. For more information, please visit: www.godrejindustries.com.
About Godrej Chemicals
At Godrej Chemicals, part of the Godrej Industries Group, we craft innovative chemistry for a sustainable future. We serve customers across more than 70 countries and are a leading provider of oleochemicals, surfactants, speciality chemicals, and biotech products, supported by an integrated manufacturing footprint in India.
With revenues of over INR 4,216 crore (FY26), we continue to strengthen our leadership across key chemical segments. Sustainability is at the core of how we operate, with a focus on green chemistry and responsible manufacturing. For more information on the Company, please log on to https://www.godrejchemicals.com/.
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