The President of All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA) and the organizer of India Rubber Expo, Mr. Niraj Thakkar, expresses his views on the India rubber industry and the India Rubber Expo 2013.

How important is the auto industry from a point of view of the rubber industry? Today in India, a lot of R&D is done towards making automobiles greener. What are your thoughts on the role of rubber towards making this possible?

The Auto industry is very critical as the bulk of the Natural Rubber (NR) and Synthetic Rubber (SR) is consumed in tires and auto components, which accounts for about 65% of total rubber consumption. India is poised to become a Global Auto Hub especially for small passenger vehicles, already being the fourth largest commercial vehicle market and second largest 2-wheeler market with significant exports.

India has a strong indigenous auto components industry with all major global tier 1 component manufacturers already having invested in India. While "go green" in the Indian Rubber Industry may yet be in the nascent stage, this only adds to the predicted increased consumption in the future as there is no other option but to embrace it for the better. As regards the role of rubber in making automobiles greener, making the Indian Rubberpreneur well informed will be the first step as better recycling facilities will be the key too. Govt. is promoting automotive R& D in India by providing weighted tax deduction for in house R&D.

What are the trends you see in the Indian rubber industry? Is there an increase in the consumption of synthetic rubber in the last decade? Where do you see it going from here and what are the factors that bring about this change, if any?

Yes, the consumption of SR is on the rise and will remain so for quite some time to come. If you consider the global average of SR vs NR consumption, in India it is contrary to the global trends (65:35). While pricing and availability of NR may be reasons for the shift in future, I forsee the shift happening due to new applications based on SR which will drive the growth.

The demand is likely to increase further as cars with advanced technology enter the market in future for which most of the rubber components are based on SR. Adopting of green technology with changing statutory requirements too will be a trend changer.

From a technology point of view, how does Indian rubber industry fare as compared to the global rubber industry? Given that India is one of the largest producers of natural rubber, how is it positioned to meet the market demand in India as well as globally?

Being the fourth largest producer of NR and the second largest consumer, a lot is left desired as far as technology is concerned. All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA) has already requested the government to assist the rubber industry with a Technology Upgradation Fund on the lines of the one created for the Textile Industry. In case this comes through, it will be the game changer for the growth of the Indian Rubber Industry.

I have no doubts that tremendous opportunities exist for the Indian Rubber Industry for catering to global markets. Challenges though exist in terms of NR availability, I am aware that Rubber Board has actively taken measures to look into these with North East of India being promoted to meet the growing demand.

Time, though, will be a deciding factor as it takes upto seven years for these trees to yield. Meanwhile, the demand will have to be met through imports as even if domestic production increases. Govt. help on this through policy initiatives is the need of hour, as the Global availability of NR and SR is likely to be good due to economic slowdown in China , West etc. Though this is only temporary, we need to look at it from a long term global perspective.

What are the opportunities and challenges for the rubber industry in India? As one of the leading rubber industry associations, what steps are you taking to further strengthen the position of rubber industry in India?

The opportunities are tremendous. There is no doubt that the rubber industry in India is poised for huge growth and will be amongst the top two rubber consumers in the future. However, challenges do exist. Some are inherent as the larger part of the industry belongs to the small scale sector.

The challenges include - speculation and large volatility in raw material pricing, non-availability of skilled labour, restrictions on imports of NR and import duty on SR and Rubber Chemicals etc. However, on a futuristic note, GOING GREEN, IMPLEMENTING Occupational Health and Safety Advisory Services (OHSAS) not only in plants but safety in automotives, catching up with global automotive trends etc. are critical.

As regards steps being taken by AIRIA , we are consistently taking issues to the Government of India, formation of Rubber Skill Development Council to address the labour issue, providing platform for members to go abroad in delegations, organizing India Rubber Expo (IRE) and National Rubber Conferences to place our industry at the Global platform are AIRIA initiatives. Partnering with LANXESS RUBBER DAY as a precursor to IRE 2013 is also a step in this direction.