Lok Sabha Question No. 1214 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-06
Subject: Support for SMEs in Chemical Sector
Ministry: CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
Asked by: Shri Brijmohan Agrawal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS

## DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICALS & PETROCHEMICALS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  1214

ANSWERED ON 06/02/2026

## SUPPORT FOR SMES IN CHEMICAL SECTOR

## 1214. SHRI BRIJMOHAN AGRAWAL:

Will the Minister of CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS be pleased to state:

(a) the details of support mechanisms under policies like Hazardous Waste Rules, 2016, for Small  and  Medium  Enterprises  (SMEs)  in  the  chemical  sector  to  meet  circular  economy standards, including waste recycling in non-major clusters;

(b) the status of implementation thereof in the States like Chhattisgarh, where sixty percent of small  industries  are  red-category  and  face  river  pollution  challenges,  along  with  regional variations, State-wise;

(c) the steps being taken to address gaps such as high compliance costs and low R&D spend (0.7%  of  revenues),  including  timelines  for  initiatives  like  MSE-SPICE  and  PLI  scheme integration; and

(d) the manner in which the said measures are likely to be beneficial for stakeholders, including local communities and the sector's growth towards $400-450 billion by 2030?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS

(SMT. ANUPRIYA PATEL)

## (a) and (b)

The Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change, Government of India (MoEF&CC) has notified Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 (HOWM Rules, 2016) under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for safe handling and management of hazardous wastes in an environmentally sound manner without causing adverse effect to environment and human health. The said Rules promote adoption of various steps  under  waste  management  hierarchy  i.e.  prevention;  minimization;  reuse;  recycling; recovery, utilization including co-processing and safe disposal.

Handling, generation, collection, storage, packaging, transportation, use, treatment, processing, recycling,  recovery,  pre-processing,  co-processing,  utilisation,  offering  for  sale,  transfer  or disposal of the hazardous and other waste by any occupier are to be carried out only after obtaining  an  authorization  from  the  concerned  State  Pollution  Control  Boards/Committees (SPCBs/PCCs) in accordance with the procedures laid down under the said Rules.

Under the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are formulated by the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change, upon receiving the request from  industry for utilizing hazardous waste generated by one unit as a raw material to be used by another unit.  This mechanism ensures safe inter-industry waste reuse, facilitating circular economy. Ministry of Environment Forest  &  Climate  Change  has  developed  127  Standard  Operating  Procedures  (SoPs)  for utilization of various categories of hazardous waste.

The said Rules also provides for a list of commonly recyclable wastes. Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change has prepared guidelines for environmental sound recycling of the said wastes and has published the same on their website.

## Status of implementation in the State of Chhattisgarh:

The  national  inventory  on  generation  and  management  of  hazardous  and  other  wastes  is prepared by Central Pollution Control Board. As per the information received from Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change, in India for the Financial Year 2023-24, there are 2,317 units engaged in recycling and 1,231 units engaged in utilization of hazardous waste. These units have recycled 2.34 million metric tonnes and utilized 1.97 million metric tonnes of  hazardous  waste.  Further,  in  the  state  of  Chhattisgarh,  there  are  587  hazardous  waste generating units, 36 recyclers, 40 authorized utilizers and 175 captive utilizers. About 2,12,848 metric tonnes of hazardous waste has been recycled or utilized for FY 2023-24.

Annual national inventory on generation and management of hazardous and other wastes is prepared and published by Central Pollution Control Board on their website which contains State wise inventory of hazardous waste.

## (c) and (d)

The various measures that are being taken to promote circular economy in the sector are as follows:

MSE-SPICE : Micro and Small Enterprises (MSE) - Scheme for Promotion and Investment in Circular  Economy  (SPICE)    is  being  implemented  by  Ministry  of  Micro  Small  Medium Enterprises (MSME). It is a Central Sector Scheme, with an outlay of Rs 472.50 Cr for the period between FY 2023-24 to 2026-27.

The scheme aims to promote a circular economy in the MSME sector by incentivizing micro and small enterprises (MSEs) to adopt circular economy practices on different types of wastes  including  on  plastic,  rubber,  and  e-waste  management.  It  supports  micro  and  small enterprises (MSEs) in meeting Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and waste recycling targets,  while  spreading  awareness  to  boost  resource  efficiency,  profitability,  and  cost reduction.

Under the MSE-SPICE Scheme, micro and small enterprises receive a 25% subsidy on Plant and Machinery cost for circular economy projects with a cap at INR 12.5 Lakhs per unit.

In addition to the above, this Department has taken the initiative to promote the development of the sector in a sustainable way by coming out with the initiative like  Petroleum, Chemicals and  Petrochemicals  Investment  Regions  (PCPIR).  Through  this  initiative,  this  department promotes  growth  of    industry  in  a  cluster  based  model,  which  also  facilitates  sustainable development  and  circular  economy.  Three  PCPIRs  have  been  set  up  at  Dahej  (Gujarat), Vishakhapatnam-Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) and Paradeep (Odisha).

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