resident Mr. Pranab Mukherjee today called upon the Indian chemical industry to promote sustainable development by investing in green technologies. Speaking in Mumbai, after inaugurating the INDIA CHEM 2012, Mr. Mukherjee said the industry must ensure increased adherence to safety and international health and environmental standards.

The President further said the chemical and petro-chemical industry has a very important role to play in increasing the share of manufacturing from the present level of 16 per cent to 25 per cent, as per the National Manufacturing Policy. He said, the National Chemical Policy is currently under preparation and will include measures to facilitate this. With Asia's share in the global chemical industry increasing from 31 per cent to 45 per cent, India has emerged as one of the focus destinations for chemical companies worldwide. The President also called upon the industry to increase its spending on Research & Development from the current level of 1-2 per cent to 5-6 per cent of the annual turnover.

INDIA CHEM 2O12 has brought together policy makers, chemical industry leaders from India and abroad to debate and deliberate the issues concerning future of chemical and petrochemical industry. It is organized jointly by the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Government of India and FICCI. The Governor of Maharashtra, Mr. K Sankaranarayanan, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Union Minister for Chemicals and Petrochemicals M K Alagiri, Minister of State Shrikant Jena, Secretary, Chemicals & Petrochemicals K Jose Cyriac, were among those present at the inaugural event.

The United Nations has said that Indian economy will grow at a slower pace of 6.7 per cent in 2012 instead of a previous 7.7 per cent forecast. In its World Economic Situation and Prospects mid-year update, the UN warned that the euro area debt crisis will remain the biggest threat to world economy this year. It said, the global economic situation continues to be challenging and global growth will likely remain tepid in 2012 following a marked slowdown in 2011. The report said, the global economy is projected to grow by 2.5 per cent in 2012 and 3.1 per cent in 2013, following a growth of 2.7 per cent in 2011, a slight downward revision from previous forecasts. It said, an escalation of the euro area debt crisis could result in severe turmoil in financial markets and a sharp rise in global risk aversion, leading to a further weakening of global growth. The UN report said, most regions of the world will also be expanding at a pace below potential. Economic growth in South Asia is projected to moderate to 5.6 per cent in 2012, down from 6.1 per cent in 2011 as the region continues to face significant regional and global headwinds. Weak demand in developed countries and a slowing Chinese economy are likely to weigh on economic growth in East Asia. Average regional growth is projected to slow from 7.1 per cent in 2011 to 6.5 per cent in 2012. Growth in China is forecast to slow from 9.2 per cent in 2011 to 8.3 per cent in 2012.

The British economy has returned to recession against the expectations of many economists. It is the first time since the 1970s that the British economy has returned to recession after a very brief recovery.The UK economy has returned to recession, after shrinking by 0.2% in the first three months of 2012.
The main source of the latest weakness was in the construction industry which declined by 3%.