Godrej Industries Group (GIG) brought together senior leaders from across the chemical industry for the third edition of the National Chemistry Day Summit, with the sector’s ability to navigate disruption, increase innovation and build for the future taking centre stage.
Held under the theme “Remaining Resilient in a New Age World,” the summit was together organised by GIG companies Godrej Industries (Chemicals) and Astec LifeSciences. The event examined how India’s chemical industry can move beyond reacting to rapid change and rather expect disruption, reinforce capabilities and create long-term value.
The industry is undergoing a huge transformation as shifting market dynamics, developing supply chains, technological disruption and increasing sustainability pressures reshape business models and competitive priorities.
Addressing the summit, Vishal Sharma, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer, Godrej Industries (Chemicals) and Chairperson, Astec LifeSciences, said: “Resilience todays is no longer about dealing with disruption; it’s far about expecting and being ready for what comes next. As our industry navigates geopolitical uncertainty, developing customer requirements, and a hastily 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 need to take this industry forward in the right path for India, we should 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 constructing it as a permanent platform for collaboration. Together, we can create an industry this is more innovative, more agile, more sustainable, and most significantly, future ready and resilient.”
The first panel, “Resilience Beyond the Enterprise: Building a Future-Ready Chemical Industry,” delivered 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 session was moderated by Sharma.
The discussion underscored the need for deeper incorporation across India’s chemical value chain. Stronger technology and R&D partnerships, allowing infrastructure and policy support, greater collaboration and faster project execution emerged as essential priorities.
The message was clear: constructing a globally competitive chemical industry will need an ecosystem capable of assisting investment, innovation and scale—not just stronger individual companies.
The second panel, “Resilience for the Enterprise: Increasing Growth, Competitiveness, and Agility in a Changing Market,” targeted on how businesses can reinforce their own ability to respond to fast changing markets.
Moderated by Sandeep Arora, Chief Commercial Officer, Godrej Industries (Chemicals), the session 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, previously Onesto Labs.
The discussion emphasized people, product strength and customer understanding as central to organisational resilience. Talent development, long-term business layout, customer-centricity and faster development have been recognized as important to staying competitive, whilst businesses also grapple with the need to balance instant execution with sustained investment in long-term R&D.
The summit also turned its focus to two forces anticipated to shape the chemical industry’s next decade: artificial intelligence and talent.
A session titled “Preparing for the Next Decade: AI in the Chemical Industry” featured a keynote by Sambit Patra, Senior Partner, Chemicals Practice, Bain & Company.
Meanwhile, a fireside chat on “The Talent Imperative: Attracting, Developing, and Retaining Talent in a fast developing 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).
Across the sessions, the summit highlighted three defining priorities for the sector: the transition toward green chemistry, the developing effect of AI, and the race to attract and develop the talent required to power the industry’s next phase of growth.
The third edition of National Chemistry Day thus positioned resilience not simply as a response to disruption, however as a wider industry imperative—one built on collaboration, development, agility and the ability to prepare for what comes next.
