The country’s paper industry has begun to gain significantly due to its focus on energy saving and water conservation, according to K.S. Kasi Viswanathan, Chairman of PaperTech 2013.
Speaking at the conference hosted by the CII and Green Business Council here today, Viswanthan, who is also the Deputy Managing Director of Seshasayee Paper & Boards Limited, said that several steps initiated to save on power and water consumption about five years have begun to yield excellent results.
“This process will continue to make the country’s paper and pulp industry world class,” he said.
The changes in one part of world are impacting the sector around the world. While this is a challenge, it provides new opportunities for industries willing to progress with the changing energy scenario.
Paper demand continues to be good but the sector players are faced with difficulty in securing raw material requirement. About 60 per cent of paper made in the country is from wood, 35 per cent from waste paper and 5 per cent from sugar bagasse. India is faced with the challenge of meeting the raw material requirement, Seshsayee said.
The paper industry has managed to bring down its energy consumption by about 20 per cent in the last five years. From an average energy consumption of 1700 kWh per tonnes, it has now come down to 1300 kWh per tonne. The Perform Achieve Trade scheme of the Government has also encouraged the industry to change, he said.
Referring to recent developments, he said, “Tamil Nadu for instance now expects industry to use about 6 per cent of energy requirement from the solar energy sector. This is a good move but will take time to take shape.”
“While paper as a commodity will always be in demand in some form or the other, the focus has been to improve internal efficiency in production and bring down reliance on fossil fuels and focus on renewable energy,” Sanjay Singh, Vice President IPMA and Divisional Chief Executive, ITC PSPD, said.
A. Chandra Sekhar Reddy, Member Secretary, Energy, Government of Andhra Pradesh, said that the State Government was planning to provide incentives to energy efficient industries.